Q: What is Article VI of the Articles of Impeachment against Chief Justice Renato Corona?

A: Respondent betrayed the Public Trust by arrogating unto himself and to a committee he created the authority and jurisdiction to improperly investigate an alleged erring member of the Supreme Court for the purpose of exculpating him. Such authority and jurisdiction is properly reposed by the Constitution in the House of Representatives via Impeachment. Q: What is the Constitutional ground upon which Article VI is based? A: Betrayal of Public Trust (Sec. 2, Art. XI, 1987 Constitution) Q: What is betrayal of public trust? A: Both the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions did not include betrayal of public trust as a ground for impeachment. It is only during the deliberations of the members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission when the broad concept of betrayal of public trust was added. The phrase was intended to be a catch-all phrase to cover any violation of the oath of office. Commissioner Rustico de los Reyes, Jr., the one responsible for the inclusion of the phrase, explained that it referred to all acts which are not punishable by statutes as penal offenses but, nonetheless, render the officer unfit to continue in office. He further said that it includes betrayal of public interest, inexcusable negligence of duty, tyrannical abuse of power, breach of official duty by malfeasance or misfeasance, cronyism, favoritism, etc. to the prejudice of public interest and which tend to bring the office into disrepute..." Commissioner Ricardo Romulo added obstruction of justice to the aforementioned enumeration. Moreover, in the leading case of Francisco, Jr. vs. Nagmamalasakit na mga Manananggol ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino, Inc. (2003), the Supreme Court ruled that the definition of "betrayal of public trust" is a "a non-justiciable political question which is beyond the scope of its judicial power" under the Constitution. In the said case, the Court does not seem to prescribe which branch of government has the power to define it, but implies that Congress, which handles impeachment cases, has the power and authority to do so. (based on the definition of betrayal of public trust in the Article I Primer) Q: What is the context/background of Article VI? A: In 2010, in the case of Vinuya vs. Executive Secretary, the Supreme Court, through the ponencia of Justice Mariano del Castillo, rejected the claims of a great number of comfort women for monetary compensation and other forms of reparation against the Government of Japan. However, instead of the merits of the case, it was the allegation of acts of plagiarism against Justice del Castillo which became a nationwide controversy, eliciting a diversity of opinions from lawyers, legislators, and scholars alike. It was for this reason that Chief Justice Renato Corona convened an Ethics Committee composed of members of the Supreme Court in order to investigate, on its own, the plagiarism charges imputed against Justice del Castillo. As a result, majority of the members of the Supreme Court issued AM No. 10-7-17-SC (In the Matter of Acts of Plagiarism etc., Against Justice Mariano del Castillo), effectively exonerating del Castillo from all the accusations made against him. Q: Were Coronas acts of forming an Ethics Committee and investigating, on its own initiative, the plagiarism charges against Justice del Castillo, unconstitutional?

A: Yes. When a member of the Supreme Court commits grave misconduct or otherwise acts in violation of its Code of Ethics, the proper remedy is impeachment. Sec. 2, Art. XI of the 1987 Constitution says, the President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust (emphasis supplied). Moreover, Sec. 3 of the same Article states that it is the House of Representatives which shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment. Therefore, by improperly investigating the plagiarism charges against Justice del Castillo, Corona clearly committed an utter derogation of the authority and power of the House of Representatives, thereby violating the provisions of the Constitution. Corona was not in any position to delegate such authority and power unto himself. The most appropriate means by which said charges should be investigated was by way of impeachment. Q: What issues arise from Article I? A: (1) Whether or not, in the act of forming an Ethics Committee, there was clear intent on the part of Corona to derogate the authority and power of the House of Representatives. (2) Whether or not Coronas act of investigating on its own the plagiarism charges against Justice del Castillo, amounted to betrayal of public trust. (3) Whether or not Coronas acts of forming an Ethics Committee and investigating on its own the allegations of plagiarism against Justice del Castillo, were indeed unconstitutional? (4) Whether or not said acts of Corona were evidence sufficient to prove his bias towards Justice del Castillo. (5) Whether or not the Ethics Committee was formed in premeditation of immediately exculpating Justice del Castillo. Q: What are the facts that need to be ascertained in relation to the issues identified above? A:

(1) The facts attending the act of betrayal of public trust such as inexcusable
negligence of duty, tyrannical abuse of power, breach of official duty by malfeasance or misfeasance, cronyism, favoritism etc., on the part of Corona (2) The fact of malicious intent on the part of Corona to derogate the authority of the House of Representatives (3) The facts that can prove Coronas bias or favoritism towards Justice del Castillo (4) The fact of premeditated intent on the part of Corona to form the Ethics Committee for the purpose of immediately exculpating Justice del Castillo (5) The fact of Coronas negligent or otherwise wilful violation of the provisions of the Constitution on the exclusive power of the House of Representatives to investigate the charges against an erring member of the Supreme Court by way of Impeachment