TWO LAWYER GROUPS — the Philippine Bar Association, Inc. (PBA) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) — yesterday raised concern on the apparent frequent use of what it called “terrible powers” of the House of Representatives, such as impeachment and slashing the budget of government agencies.

“There has never been a time where, in a matter of a few days, the House of Representatives has chosen to exercise not one, but two (2) of its most terrible powers: Impeachment and Defunding,” the PBA said in a statement.

The IBP, meanwhile, said: “While impeachment is by and large a political exercise, it should be used sparingly and only in the gravest of instances. The frequency and rate of these impeachment initiatives dilutes its power, strains the limited resources of Congress and, presents troubling questions whether like any other device, impeachment is being wielded wisely or carelessly.”

The IBP described impeachment as “a scalpel, not a broadsword and, even if it were the latter, no sword retains its sharpness if swung too far, and too often.”

Recently, 16 lawmakers endorsed the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Lorenzo “Larry” G. Gadon against Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes P.A. Sereno, and the case can now be referred to the House justice committee.

Mr. Gadon filed the impeachment complaint against Ms. Sereno in August on the grounds of betrayal of public trust, citing her “lavish” lifestyle after approving the Supreme Court’s purchase of a luxurious Toyota Land Cruiser worth more than P5 million for her use, and culpable violation of the Constitution for failing to disclose in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth P37 million in lawyer’s fee.

The impeachment complaint against Commission on Elections (Comelec) chief Juan Andres D. Bautista has also been endorsed, while those against Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales have no endorsers so far. The case against President Rodrigo R. Duterte has been junked.

Last Thursday, the Makati Business Club also flagged “the unprecedented number of impeachment complaints lodged against high-ranking officials, from the President, the Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Ombudsman and the COMELEC.”

The PBA, the oldest voluntary national organization of lawyers in the country, viewed impeachment as something that “scorches the earth.”

“By design it is meant to be disruptive and burdensome. The Constitution envisions that it is only to be used for the gravest of sins, and the most urgent of instances,” the group said.

The IBP, the official organization of all Philippine lawyers, also said: “May we express the hope that impeachment as a process is not being brandished as a weapon of submission, thereby defeating Constitutional design that the judicial branch be insulated from considerations other than the facts and the law in discharging its function of adjudication.”

“It is an assault upon the Constitution and the very ideal of limited government that is enshrined in it, when impeachment is misused as the very tool to undermine judicial independence,” IBP said.

BUDGET SLASH
On the ludicrous P1,000 budget granted to several agencies, including the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the PBA said: “Defunding a Commission, department or agency is not by any means subtler. It is accountability by paralysis — holding hostage entire bureaucracies, and more importantly, depriving the public of the services they have paid for.”

“Thus, we urge Congress to take pause and consider whether the successive and frequent use of its terrible powers is a means to strengthen or weaken institutions. The former upholds the Constitution, the latter threatens its existence,” PBA said.

BusinessWorld sought several congressmen for comment, but had yet to receive a response as of early Tuesday night. — Rosemarie A. Zamora

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