AN INTRIGUING ISSUE TO PREVENT GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION ONCE AND FOR ALL

By Marlowe Camello, a concerned Citizen:

When a political unit such as a City and its residents-citizens exercise their constitutional sovereign power and authority pursuant to Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, with the use of RA 6735 through a city ordinance such as a city Grand Jury and Trial Jury systems Ordinance, can their act in exercising their said constitutional sovereign power and authority through the Jury Systems be supplanted by a national statute such as a banking law in case of a conflict between their sovereignty and the banking law?

Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution states: "Sovereignty resides in the People and all government authority emanates from them."

A city ordinance is proposed to create a grand jury wherein it will directly derive its power from the sovereign power of the resident-citizens of the city to investigate and indict a capital crime suspect. Part of that power is to issue a grand jury subpoena to compel a local bank executive that do business within the city to produce the records of an accused powerful corrupt official of the city. As a result of the accusation against him, the Trial Jury in the same city presided by an Executive Regional Trial Judge, had tried and convicted the accused.

In connection with the above, the following issue is raised:

ISSUE: Can the secrecy provision in the banking law to prevent the money deposit of the accused from being disclosed to the grand jury prevail over the sovereign power and authority of the resident-citizens who exercised through their local grand jury system to subpoena the banking records of the accused?

If your response state that "Yes", the banking law can stop the enforcement of the grand jury subpoena, does that mean that the sovereignty of the people is subordinate to the statute law, the banking law, a mere legislation of Congress?

Further, does that mean that the sovereign power and authority of the People in Article 2, of the Constitution, is inferior to the power of Congress in Article VI of the Constitution? If so, why is Congress created with a hierarchy below the People's sovereign power?

Furthermore, does the "jury formula" defining the means of the people to exercise their sovereign power through a local ordinance have no power and effect over the "banking secrecy formula" created by lawmakers who derived their authority to act that emanated from the people?

Another ISSUE: Is Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, a sufficient authority for the sovereign Filipino people to set up their jury system via Republic Act 6735, notwithstanding the absence in the Philippine Constitution in authorizing the creation of the Jury System?

If not, how much sovereignty of the Filipino people shall be needed to create their jury system to control and prevent abuse of power of corrupt public servants that emanates from the people?

Kindly explain your argument.

I have paused the above issues in view of my recommendation concerned citizens to legislate by local ordinance the adoption of the Jury System, city by city, or province by province.

Please forward this message to all legal luminaries in the Supreme Court and retired justices of the Supreme Court and also to all members of Congress as well as Deans and Law Professors.

Thanks.