Has Romualdez gone mad?

First of two parts

WITH due respect, I have to ask that question because of House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s recent statements and actions, perhaps delirious that the Supreme Court has demolished his and his cousin President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s plot to prevent Vice President Sara Duterte from becoming president in 2028.

First, in a video released by his office on Aug. 4 to argue that the Supreme Court didn’t get its facts right in declaring unconstitutional the impeachment complaint against Duterte, Romualdez in so many words threatened the high court justices that they would be impeached for their decision.

Why else would he remind it in his 3.5-minute message that “its members are… also impeachable officers.” This is the first time ever that a high official has threatened the Supreme Court magistrates that they would be impeached because of a decision they made.

Second, on the same day, Romualdez, through the solicitor general and her 20 assistants, sent a document to the Supreme Court titled “Motion for Reconsideration” asking it to reverse its unanimous decision declaring illegal the impeachment complaint against Duterte. This is the first time ever for the House of Representatives to be a petitioner in the Supreme Court, a co-equal but separate branch of government.

Romualdez threatens the high court, and on the same day, asks it to support his view on Duterte’s impeachment? That’s mad.

Third, the document declared that a “Motion for Reconsideration” is being filed by the “House of Representatives represented by Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez in his capacity as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Reginald Velasco, in his capacity as the Secretary General of the House.”

But the document does not include any proof that Romualdez was authorized by the majority of the House membership to represent it in filing the case at the Supreme Court. No copy of such resolution signed by the House members, nor a copy of the Congressional Record declaring such was annexed to the document. (It is preposterous for Velasco to represent the House: he is not even an elected representative of any district or party-list. His role is that of a glorified clerk and paymaster, some claim, and in practice, Romualdez’s main minion.)

If not having lost his wits, Romualdez is totally ignorant of the fact that the House is a collegial body, and just like other collegial bodies like the Senate and the Supreme Court, each and every official action or public declaration it makes must first be included in a session’s “Order of Business” in which the action or declaration is approved by the majority of the members of the House. For the head of the institution, cannot his ignorance be understood only if he is mad?

Even statements of condolences or congratulations require approval by the majority of the House, made through “Resolutions.” Voting by the representatives is reported in the Congressional Record. Most approved resolutions are made through the formulaic statement by the speaker, as in the case of the House’s appointment of the prosecutors in the aborted trial of the vice president:

“There is a motion to elect the aforementioned members as prosecutors in the trial of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte. Is there any objection? (Silence.) The chair hears none; the motion is approved.”

I cannot find any document of such a resolution authorizing the speaker to file the “Motion for Reconsideration” for the court to reverse its July 25 ruling. It would have taken Romualdez just a few seconds to declare: “There is a motion to ask the Supreme Court to reverse its July 25 decision on the Duterte impeachment. Is there any objection? The chair hears none; the motion is approved.” He didn’t bother to do so.

The “Motion for Reconsideration” is therefore not worth the paper it is printed on and will be thrown to the wastebasket forthwith.

Romualdez has committed perjury by falsely claiming that he represents the House in objecting to the high court’s decision on the Duterte case. There is no resolution by the House, voted on by the majority of its members, giving Romualdez dictator-like blanket authority to represent it in any statement of motion he makes.

Fourth, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) represents the executive branch of government and cannot be the lawyer of the House of Representatives.

While the House of Representatives can theoretically request the OSG to act as its lawyer in a court case, there must be proper authorization from the House made in a plenary vote, as implied by the Administrative Code’s requirement for consent from the head of the office concerned. However, no evidence that Romualdez got the House’s consent to get the OSG as its lawyer.

Many of the House members would have objected. The solicitor general, who was the main signatory of the “Motion for Reconsideration” is Darlene Berberabe, probably the most unqualified appointee for the post ever. She was appointed only two months ago by Marcos in a rush to get a replacement for the much-respected Menardo Guevara, who resigned for refusing to represent the administration in persecuting former president Rodrigo Duterte in the International Criminal Court case.

Berberabe’s work experience has been as head for seven years of the Pag-IBIG Fund, and before that, as a lawyer for foreign companies Baker McKenzie and Procter and Gamble. She would know constitutional law about as much as Romualdez would know the concept of ethics and morality.

Only President Marcos could conceivably ask the OSG to represent the House, to help his cousin out. Did he? But there is no statement from Marcos nor any document saying that he asked it do so.

It is hilarious, or perhaps an insult to the House, for Romualdez to file a “Motion” that was signed not even by any of his 10 deputy speakers or the majority and minority leaders, but only by Berberabe and her 21 assistants, many of whom became lawyers only in the past few years.

I wonder if Romualdez’s fury at the Supreme Court is due to the fact that his cousin Marcos has become sick and tired of his blunders in taking down Sara Duterte, that he is thinking of removing him — maybe replace him with Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco or, in order to rebuild his base in Cebu, even with one of the mediocre congressmen there, Vincent Franco Frasco. (He filed a libel case against me — dismissed of course — a few months ago for writing about his public disclosure that he signed the impeachment complaint against VP Sara or he wouldn’t get any funds for his district if he didn’t.)

Romualdez’s recent actions and statements are indeed a classic case of that adage derived from the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles: “Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.”

On Friday, How Romualdez covers up for his blunder by blaming the Supreme Court.

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Has Romualdez gone mad?
Source: Breaking News PH