After the landmark case that impeached Renato C. Corona as the chief justice of the Supreme Court, people became more vocal about their opinion about cases where the highest court of the land chose to renege on its final and executor decisions. Everyone thought that such a decision would put an end to the flip-flopping that has been proven to happen in the Supreme Court. It’s sad to learn that there are more of these cases today.
In a Statement of Concern signed by various legal personalities and private individuals, the case of Pioneer Insurance and Surety Corporation and Keppel Cebu Shipyard, Inc. was cited as one of the most alarming show of flip-flopping decision in the SC. The Court previously ruled in favor of Pioneer Insurance. This dead case was resurrected on September 18, 2012 and the Court en banc reversed its final and executory decision.
The way the Supreme Court is handling cases like these is becoming alarming. What good are the laws of the land if they cannot be implemented and upheld with consistency? The integrity of the Supreme Court is in question. This country cannot move forward when the strength of the legal system is in compromised. Concerned citizens are worried about the opening of the “floodgate for zombie cases.” How will justice ever be served when the finality of any judgement is not certain?
It is the prayer of these concerned citizens that the sitting justices of the Supreme Court restore the public’s faith in the judicial system. It’s not too late. The court can still make a choice to stick to the “sacred and time honored principle of immutability of judgments” in the decisions that they make. The citizens’ voice is ringing loud. This is more than just partisan politics raising doubts about “tuwid na daan.” The justice system should remain steadfast in the decisions they make in this administration and in the next administrations.
