THE 8-7 DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT barring the effectivity of the people’s initiative was too close a call for comfort. Like a hairline division between two starkly contrasting realities—like that between black and white, light and dark or that of Asia and America. It could have gone either way that most probably those who were stoutly pushing for people’s initiative were fiercely snapping their fingers in utter dismay or regret. Sayang, isa na lang sana.

Yet, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had expressed her acquiescence to the Supreme Court decision although in turgid hesitation, like she was really expecting a favorable decision all along and had done everything in the world to get that desired outcome at whatever cost it takes. Whatever that means.

It could be told that in the days leading to the pronouncement of this much-publicized SC decision, there were strong droning buzzes in the political scene about how Malacañang was moving heaven and earth beneath the public’s eye in order to cajole every SC justice to conform to the idea of changing the constitution through the new and hugely untested mechanism of people’s initiative. Chief Justice Artemio Paganiban was even barred from attending social activities like it was a crime to do that during those times; as if DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzales had owned his person, seeming to attempt to control or limit his movement, perhaps even the words he utters or the food he takes into his mouth. Whenever there is smoke, there should always be fire or at least a smoldering somewhere near. It had gotten to the point where executive interference has gotten too brazen that the Malacañang people were looking so guiltless in denying it television and radio, like the public can be fooled anyway and nobody could complain or that things like that happens anyway and we all should not be surprised by it in the first place.

Now, what if the close SC decision on the people’s initiative had gone the other way, allowing changes in the constitution thru this untried methodology?

It would have been not lesser than a historic day I am sure of that, a momentous and close-to-an-unprecedented instance in the history of our jurisprudence, where for once the highest court in the land makes a very bold move and make a radical shift in policy, a quantum leap at that. It would perhaps be the only moment in local jurisprudence where the judiciary had become a major factor in concocting a newer version of the constitution, which in effect could lead to that unprecedented situation where there’d be constitutional changes effected in huge part thru jurisprudence or by way of a judicial decision.

Amending laws through a Supreme Court decision has been happening before and is not rare at all. It had happened many times in the past. This way, jurisprudence becomes a source of law and not merely an interpreter of laws. This is an instance where judicial decisions become the main source of law and not through the usual manner of legislation, customs or norms. In fact, in the doctrine of stare decisis ( a latin term conforming to that jurisprudential policy that the courts should always decide based on previous precedents.), the court should always decide based on the trends showed by previous decisions and should not depart from it unless there is that extreme necessity to do so. In effect, previous judicial decisions become a strong basis for deciding a case, as if they are as strong as the provisions of a law duly enacted thru legislation.

If the Supreme Court had ruled the other day in favor of allowing people’s initiative to change major provisions of our constitution, the high court would then be violating this doctrine of stare decisis, and should be compelled then to show extreme cause (that indubitable reason to shift) why it had to depart from commonly accepted policies as based on previous decisions on similar cases. Let us remember that in 1997, the Supreme Court had struck down people’s initiative citing inadequacy of an enabling law in the Santiago v. Comelec landmark case. And since even until now, there is no new law enacted that should be deemed as sufficient as to bring into effect changes in the constitution through people’s initiative, the High Court should have no other choice but to based its present decision on people’s initiative and struck it down as well. That if it had gone the other way—allowing people’s initiative instead—the High Court would be put into a scandalous light and be easily accused of prostituting their judgment to the nuances of the high and mighty now sitting in Malacañang.

The fact that the recent SC decision on people’s initiative was too close for comfort at 8-7, showed that the nation was on the brink of experiencing what could have been a jurisprudential crisis of unprecedented proportion. I for one could not believe that our Supreme Court was halfly in favor of dismantling our constitution in a nearly haphazard manner, when in fact it has the sworn duty to protect our most fundamental law from the whimsical and capricious notions and intentions of some sector of our society. I am not really antagonistic to charter changes—as I have often mentioned here before—but doing such in a manner that is hugely untested and one with no sufficient mechanism to take effect is not good and clearly unideal.

That in the end, even if as a whole the Supreme Court had acted in the most wise of manner—striking down the present petition for people’s initiative— the 8-7 difference (as to those who were in favor and those who were not in favor of allowing changes in the constitution thru people’s initiative) is a scandalous situation, a shameful episode in the history of our jurisprudence, where almost nearly, the crocodiles in the seats of power could have wolfed down wholly, shamelessly and blatantly, the dignity of the High Court in the most blatant of manner—whatever is left of it.

ONE THING I CAN SAY ABOUT MYSELF is that I have this strong inclination to stick to many things that I do routinely or regularly or to things I take in either into my stomach or into my brain. Like for example, I am not comfortable using any other shampoo except that one brand that I have been using ever since I was in college. When that particular specie of shampoo somehow went out of stock, or was taken out of the market by its manufacturer, I felt like I didn’t want to use anything else anymore on my hair whenever I take a splash in the bathroom; as if any other shampoo wasn’t worth the effort of scrubbing my fingers slowly, and then vigorously through my hair and then through my scalp. That could be the reason why I often have bad hair day these days. (more…)

Oh, I don’t mean to sound so kitschy like I am inside such and such horrible Hollywood movie that shouldn’t have been made in the first place; I just mean to elucidate something on this post. I could perhaps give a one-liner and be done with it like “I am just too busy right now that I have not been blogging as often”, or maybe I could be sport in a community of many “why’s” and “what’s” as well as “how’s” and “how’s that again?” kind of intuitions; that maybe I feel like elaborating farther and be interesting than just a one-liner lip-service.

Maybe it’s kind of a phenomenon that bloggers should be aware of by now, that so-called blog delays or blog meltdown, that oftentimes we refer to it as blog hiatus. Why do bloggers go into a hiatus? Often the reason is that undeniable reality that most bloggers—like 99% of them— have day jobs that whenever demands at workplace becomes too edgy for comfort, the blogger just sign-off with a quick notice and be away from the net for days and days and sometimes for several weeks. And sometimes, they never come back at all. It’s a given fact—we bloggers are like a different specie of working class people that has evolved in the most recent of times, like in the last half-decade, where we can be ascribed to as such and such group of individuals who despite being immersed in a very demanding undertaking—such as being a lawyer, a salesman, a doctor, a web designer, a businessman, a teacher, an engineer—still inexplicably aspire to do extra task by logging into the Internet and update a weblog on a regular basis. Let’s admit it; it has become some sort of a task, a responsibility even though most of us don’t get paid for it. Buffwings used to say that blogging out to be just a hobby and I could agree with that easily but somehow, I just can’t help but feel that blogging has actually become more than just a habit to me like it had become a way of life, a daily routine, a daily task. Sometimes I feel like I’ve got to step back awhile and re-examine this thing I got myself into. I am not complaining I must be clear with that. In fact I had enjoyed blogging so much that I felt just awhile ago that I must have been caught in the whirl of a very enjoyable activity that it went to a point that blogging had became the most primary concern in my mind and everything else get adjusted because I need to find time for blogging. I think that’s not an ideal situation. I think it’s something that I need to handle and address.

And now that I have not blogged for more days than what was usual, I felt this kind of questions in my mind which I thought you could partake in finding out the answers. What has blogging became to each and everyone of us? What has blogging become to you?

Oh, I hope you don’t mind so much those above soliloquies. Maybe I am just getting old. Actually, the reason why I was not blogging as often as what was usual in the past days is that my computer has encountered some problems and I am still trying to fix it. It’s maybe a virus. I just called a friend who is adept on this kind of things and he said that maybe, its hardware problem. I couldn’t blog at home so I still need to go out into a café when most of the time I do my blogging is almost near midnight, after I’ve taken my night meal and watch the evening news. It’s a kind of time where it is most silent and most conducive to thinking. I don’t know if I can do that—go and find a café near midnight. But then, I am confident my computer can be fixed in time not longer than a week.