UPHOLDING JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

(Speech delivered by Chief Justice Renato C. Corona during the Commencement Exercises of the Philippine Law School; 3:00 p.m., March 26, 2012, Philippine International Convention Center.)

Dean Manuel R. Bustamante, Judge Janzen R. Rodriguez, President Sabina Lacson, Executive Vice-President Rosalia G. Kapauan, Atty. Amado Maralit, officials and school administrators of the Philippine Law School, members of the faculty, parents, spouses and friends, graduates,

distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a warm and pleasant good afternoon to all of you.

This afternoons ceremony is a rite of passage. It marks the culmination of an

academic journey that will, for all of our graduates, always be associated with hard

work, perseverance and sacrifice. My heartfelt congratulations to you as you celebrate this moment of triumph, for today is your day and it belongs to you and to you alone. Cherish this moment forever.

Thank you for inviting me to be with you this afternoon. Truth to tell, I could not help but feel a little emotional when I received your invitation. You see, my late father, Atty. Juan Molinyawe Corona, was a proud alumnus of this great institution. In the living room of our old ancestral house in Sta. Ana, Manila where I grew up still hangs the Bachelor of Laws diploma of my father, dated March 28, 1936.

That diploma, now wrinkled by the years, has its own story to tell that of a young man from Tanauan, a Batangas and who bravely dreamed faced to the

become

lawyer

challenges to achieve his dreams.

He came to

Manila with grit and determination to make something of himself by becoming a lawyer.

My father remained a very simple and humble man to the very end. Not many knew that he was an intellectual giant, one of the Bureau of Internal Revenues recognized experts in estate taxation. Fewer still were aware that he produced three sons, all lawyers like him a former Secretary of Transportation and

Communications,

Chief

Justice

of

the

Supreme Court and a former VicePresident of the National Home Mortgage and Finance

Corporation. Indeed it will take long to tell my fathers life story but if there is one thing that is clear, it is the fact that everything started at the Philippine Law School.

Philippine Law School is among the law schools in the country that have produced the most number of bar topnotchers, including one of the bar examinations early topnotchers, Gregorio Anonas, in 1919.

The most famous alumnus of the Philippine

Law School was, of course, the valedictorian (magna cum laude) of Class 1923, who placed 7th in that years bar examinations, and who later became the fourth President of the

Philippines, the late President Carlos P. Garcia.

It is no coincidence that many lawyers become leaders of our nation, for there is a call upon the legal profession, in the words of Associate Justice Louis Brandeis of the United States Supreme Court, to do great work for the country.1

During the presidency of Philippine Law School alumnus Carlos P. Garcia, the big issue
1

http://bingaman.senate.gov/news/20090519-02.cfm

that

gripped

the

nation

was

economic

independence. He said: If the Filipinos cannot be first in the Philippines, where else can they be first? Only when Filipinos are first in their country will the Philippines be finally truly free. Until then, their independence can only be a sham. While aliens control the economy, how can Filipinos be said to be masters in their homes or their government is sovereign in their lands? They are mere hirelings, dummies, servantssubservient to the will of others, serving their interest first. How can Filipinos advance their own?2

The Garcia Administration from 1957 to 1961 was known for its Filipino First Policy whose objective was to make the Filipinos first and supreme in the national economic

http://www.prescarlosgarcia.org

household

of

the

Philippines.3

Today,

different kind of battle for independence is gripping the consciousness of our people. It is the fight for judicial independence.

When we speak of judicial independence, (or independence of the judiciary), we are really referring to two distinct concepts: first, the

powers of the judiciary as distinct and separate from those of the two other great branches of government unhampered and second, to the render judiciarys decisions

freedom

without political pressure or outside influence.4

3 4

Id. Justice Clarence Thomas. On Judicial Independence. 12 November 1999.

As we all know, the judiciary, together with the executive and the legislative, is one of the three co-equal departments of government. The Constitution clearly defined and divided the vast powers of government among these three departments to ensure operational checks and balances, with the avowed purpose of

preventing tyranny, as explained by James Madison.5

Alexander Hamilton analyzed state power very succinctly: The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the
5

Id.

rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither force nor will, but merely judgment.6

Described as the weakest of the three branches of government, the judiciary has been at the receiving end of continued and relentless attacks on its independence, from mediabashing to budgetary cuts and impounding, to impeachment and unending threats of

impeachment. All these have only one purpose, and that is to create a compliant and malleable judiciary.

The Federalist, No. 78.

10

It is indeed unfortunate that there are those, some even in the higher echelons of government, who refuse to acknowledge the role of the judiciary to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution. We are a government of laws, not of men, and the foundation of our laws is the Constitution. The interpretation of the laws and the Constitution is the proper and peculiar province of the courts.7

Ang Republika ng Pilipinas ay isang bansa sa ilalim ng batas kung saan ang Saligang Batas ang namamayani. Walang sinuman ang mas

mataas o hihigit pa sa Saligang Batas.

Id.

11

Popular opinion or political expediency does not sway the way we decide cases in the judiciary. We do not have constituencies whose interests we have to protect nor any agenda we have to espouse. It is the ability to render

independent judgment, without fear or favor, that separates us and makes us distinct from the two other branches of government.

Tulad nga po ng madalas sabihin ng isang tanyag na komentarista, Wala po tayong

kinikilingan. Wala po tayong pinoprotektahan. Tayo po ay narito na may iisang dahilan lamang: ang pairalin ang batas at tiyakin ang karapatan ng mga mamamayan ay naaayon sa Saligang

12

Batas.

When judges are free to decide cases in accordance uninfluenced with their unbiased of the and law,

interpretations

members of society can expect more predictable decisions and resolutions because outcomes are not based on the whim of those with money or power enough to sway the judiciary.8

The independence of the judiciary is meant to empower it as the guardian of the rule of law.9 It is neither for its honor nor for its

prestige, but essentially for the public interest

8 9

Justice Clifford Wallace. An Essay on Independence of the Judiciary: Independence From What and Why. 08 May 2002. J. S. Verma, Judicial Independence: Is It Threatened? 29 January 2010.

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and the preservation of the rule of law.10

At the end of the day, the Supreme Court, often referred to as the Court of Last Resort, must never compromise its duty to safeguard that, in accordance with the fundamental law of the land, sovereignty will always reside in the people and all government authority will always emanate from them. It is therefore of critical importance to our democracy that we uphold judicial independence at all times and under all circumstances. Ang Korte Suprema ay husgado, hindi ng mga namumuno, kundi husgado ng sambayanan!

10

Id.

14

Many times I have been asked why I submitted myself to the impeachment process, knowing that everything will be thrown at me and my family. My answer has always been simple and direct: I have done no wrong to anyone nor ever violated my oath as a

magistrate. My adversaries can fabricate all they want to besmirch me and my family but, in the end, it will still be between me and the Lord God Almighty. That is what I learned from my father, what I want my children and their children to live by and what I now want to impart to this graduating class: you should be prepared to lose everything when you are fighting for your principles.

15

I have nothing to gain but everything to lose in this fight. Acquittal will give me nothing new which I already do not have. But if I am not upheld, my life will turn upside down, losing everything that has always been dear to me my pride, my honor, the stability and peace of our family, my friends even, my retirement pay and pension for which I have worked hard all these years.

And yet, why am I risking all this? Yes, indeed, why? For one reason alone and it is the fact that, in my heart of hearts, I am fighting for democracy and the preservation of the fundamental freedoms that guarantee the

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preservation of our way of life.

As future lawyers, you shall eventually take your oath to serve the law, to obey the law and to inspire others to respect it. It would then be our duty as members of this noble profession to wield the law not as an instrument of deceit and oppression but as a social apparatus for the common good. As Philippine Law Schools most illustrious alumnus, President Carlos P. Garcia, said, Only those who can remain free are worthy of it. Freedom must be constantly deserved.11

11

http://www.prescarlosgarcia.org

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Kung

hindi

sa

ating

mga

hanay

manggagaling ang mga magtatanggol sa Korte Suprema, sino ang aasahan natin mangunguna para mapanatili ang kalayaan ng ating husgado? Sa mga tulad ninyong maalam sa batas, pairalin ang tama na naaayon sa inyong konsensiya hindi kung ano ang gusto ng nakararami. Ipakita nating karapat-dapat tayo sa

pagkakaroon ng isang malaya at malakas na demokrasya. Marami ang naniwala sa ating adhikain. Makiisa at manindigan! Thank you and congratulations. God bless you all!