The Supreme Court’s Impeachment Decision – and Why We’re Loving the Uproar

By Vincent R. Pozon

A Welcome Hubbub

No matter how many criticize the Supreme Court for meddling in impeachment affairs, it will not surrender or reconsider. It will not bend or bow—not to the people, not to law schools, deans, former justices and chief justices, not to lawyers, nor civic organizations.

The hubbub is a welcome one. The notion that the Court can never err—that its interpretations of the law are infallible—is one of the most pernicious myths in our political system. This very intransigence might just spark a much-needed reassessment of the Court’s role in the nation’s affairs. The racket, the public debate, the podcasts—may they further demote our reverence for this all-too-protected branch of government.

The Third Branch of Government is Coddled

Let’s face it: the Court has repeatedly erred, and yet its mistakes go unchallenged. Take the adulteration of the party-list system. Once designed to amplify the voices of marginalized sectors, it has been corrupted into a vehicle for political patronage, with many of its seats now occupied by parties that represent the very establishment the party-list system was meant to stand against.

This controversy, this loud eruption of dissent, is a good thing and one that must be sustained.

The Court’s obstinacy also gives substance to the growing suspicion that the Vice President is being protected by a phalanx of the powerful. She is shielded from scrutiny, ensuring she will not stand in court. Her bank records, now growing in importance, remain hidden from the public—becoming more like Estrada's "second envelope." And therein lies the irony: this "protection" makes her appear more guilty, not less.

The Court Will Not Yield? Great.

Let the justices be obstinate. Let them hold their ground. In doing so, they cut the legs from under themselves and chip away at the illusion of their supremacy. Let them remember: their authority is not a divine right. It is a privilege granted by the people, and it can—and must—be revoked when they fail to serve us.

Let it continue. Let it spread. Let it permeate our media, our conversations, our thoughts. Let Christian Esguerra, Ronald Llamas, Chris Tan, Richard Heydarian, Cielo Magno, and other podcast hosts talk about this every day. Let Rep. Perci Cendana, the sharp end of Akbayan's spear, continue his campaign. For the hubbub is a good thing. It is not the noise of dissent, but the sound of reclaiming what is ours—the right to question authority and the duty to hold every branch of government in check.