THE IMMEDIATE and decisive dismissal of the Impeachment Complaint affirms our faith in the House of Representatives under the leadership of the current Speaker of the House as well as the Committee on Justice.
It is a leadership that refuses to be used to debase and degrade sacred constitutional processes for unworthy ends. It is also a leadership that seeks to focus on the gravest threats that we face today, provide succor to the suffering multitudes of our people, and in the process find ways and means to heal our needless divisions.
The House of Representatives has just affirmed the constitutional independence of the Judiciary by not allowing others to take advantage of the vulnerability of its members. They have created a precedent that warns against the abuse and trivialization of constitutional processes.
A dismissal on the basis of the mere face of the impeachment complaint affirms the baselessness of the grounds raised. It is an act that powerfully speaks for itself.
Throughout these challenges, I have been privileged by the unqualified support of the Chief Justice and the entire Court en banc. I am witness to a current Court that can easily unite on the basis of principle, open to rethinking differences in judicial standpoint when necessary, when presented with a better approach for the good of our society and human dignity, always working collegially as it pursues its needed autonomy to discharge its oath to protect the Rule of Law.
…The twin threats of a raging pandemic and the dire effects of climate change should be an inspiration for all of us to find ways to help each other evolve the kind of governance founded on care and compassion. We are still far from our ideal society: poverty abounds, hunger is ubiquitous, inequality exists, social justice needs to be articulated more clearly and urgently made real.
Finally, to the prime movers of this baseless complaint and those who have supported them, know this: I wish you well, and I wish that you will also find your own peace.
There is no victory to be celebrated by anyone. If anything, it should remind some not to waste our time and resources for narrow parochial selfish gains. There are those in positions of leadership who will clearly see your motives and will do the right thing. Our people clearly see your motives. At the right time, they will do the right thing.
(Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen after the House Committee on Justice dismissed impeach complaints against him with a vote of 37-0, May 27, 2021)
