Ask your congressman to withdraw signature.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Belinda Olivares-Cunanan

THIS weekend, members of the House go back to their respective provinces for the traditional observance of All Saints' Day. I hope that citizens and the various religious, civic and professional organizations in the provinces will take time out to talk to their representatives who signed the impeachment complaint and convince them to withdraw their signatures. The 87 signatories have been nicknamed by legal columnist Jose Sison of the Star as the "Brazen Eighty-Seven," but the fact is that there are many decent elements among them who may be wavering, after hearing the truth about the allegations of graft and corruption against Chief Justice Davide, and the national outrage they provoked. A sincere appeal may do the trick. At the moment there appears to be no solution to the impasse between the Supreme Court and the House, and the country seems to be careening toward a constitutional crisis. The best solution is to get the lawmakers to withdraw their signatures (about a dozen withdrawals are needed). So, fellow citizens, if you love your country, get to work on your congressmen.

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Many House members were up in arms over the Court's en banc "status quo" order issued to Congress and the various petitioners and respondents in eight petitions filed concerning the impeachment complaint. The House members felt that the Court does not have the power to order a co-equal branch to desist from transmitting it, and some hotheads have called for openly defying the order and boycotting the hearing scheduled on Nov. 5. But it was obvious that few of them read the resolution, for if they did, they would have realized that it was not an order but a gentle appeal. Its meat lies in one short paragraph which the court reportedly took over two hours to craft. As Sen. Joker Arroyo noted, the SC resolution was "not offensive; in fact it was very carefully crafted." The paragraph reads: "The Court calls on the petitioners and the respondents to maintain the STATUS QUO, enjoining the parties and all others acting for and in their behalf, to refrain from committing actions that would render the petitions moot." The words "call on" took the place of the usual imperious "order."

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As former Senate President Salonga pointed out in the dzRH program Cecile Alvarez and I co-hosted recently, the ruling was a plea to "freeze the ball" and give everyone, including the Court, time to think over this crucial issue. In fact, he noted that the Court, in the same order, even asked some "friends of the court" (amici curiae) from various sides of the political fence to lend their thoughts on the issue, and help the magistrates think over this crisis that is hitting them for the first time in over 100 years. The amici curiae include Salonga himself as well as some lawyers known to be pro-Erap, such as Estelito ...