Parliamentary Immunities

7/30/2019 Parliamentary Immunities

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A Senator or a Member of the House ofRepresentatives shall, in all offensespunishable by not more than six yearsimprisonment, be privileged from arrest whilethe Congress is in session. No Member shallbe questioned nor be held liable in any otherplace for any speech or debate in theCongress or in any committee thereof.


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1. Privilege from arrest

2. Privilege of speech and debate


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Legislators are privilegedfrom arrest while the Congress isin session with respect tooffenses punishable by up to sixyears of imprisonment.


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The accused-appellant, Romeo G. Jalosjos, is

a full-fledged member of the House ofRepresentatives. He has been convicted by the

lower court for two counts of statutory rape adsix counts of acts of lasciviousness, but saidjudgment is pending appeal in the SC. Jalosjosnow files a motion asking that he be allowed tofully discharge his duties as a congressman,

including attending Congressional sessions andcommittee meetings, despite being convicted ofa non-bailable offense.


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His arguments:1. Mandate of sovereign

will

2. One of his functions isto attend sessions

SCs responses:1. Jalosjos is convicted ofa felony punishable byreclusion perpetua,thus he could not claimparliamentary immunity

from suit2. The members of theCongress cannot becompelled to attendsession if the reason forthe absence is a

legitimate one


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3. On several occasions,he was granted toleave prison premisesfor official, correctional

and medical reasons

3. Emergency orcompelling temporaryleaves fromimprisonment areallowed to all prisoners,

at the discretion of theauthorities or upon courtorders. To allow him toattend sessions five daysa week will virtually makehim a free man


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4. His constituentswanted their voices tobe heard

4. He admitted that a.) heis provided with acongressional office inthe Bilibid where heattends to his

constituents, b.) underdetention, he has filedresolutions and motions,and c.) he receives hissalaries and benefits as aCongressman


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5. He is a bona fidemember of the Houseof Representatives. Ineffect, SC, as a co-

equal of Congress,should respect hismandate

5. Even under detention,accompanied with validrestraints, Jalosjos hasbeen discharging his

mandate


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The performance oflegitimate and even

essential duties by publicofficers has never been anexcuse to free a personvalidly in prison.


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Petitioner Trillanes, along with hiscomrades, was charged with coup d etat forstorming into the Oakwood. In 2007, he wona seat in the Senate. Before the

commencement of his term, he filed anOmnibus Motion for Leave of Court to beAllowed to Attend Senate Sessions andRelated Requests to the Makati RTC.


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Jalosjos Already convicted

Charged with twocounts of statutory

rape and six counts ofacts of lasciviousness,crimes involving moralturpitude

Attempted to flee

Trillanes Has not been convicted Charged with the

offense coup d etat, a

charge commonlyregarded as a politicaloffense

Voluntarily

surrendered


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The said distinctions were not elemental inthe pronouncement in Jalosjos that electionto Congress is not a reasonable classificationin criminal law enforcement as the functions

and duties of officers are not substantialdistinctions which lift one from the class ofprisoners interrupted in their freedom andrestricted in their liberty of movement


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All persons, except those charged with offensespunishable by reclusion perpetua when evidenceof guilt is strong, shall before conviction, bebailable by sufficient sureties, or be released on

recognizance as may be provided by law. Theright to bail shall not be impaired even when theprivilege of the writ of habeas corpus issuspended. - Art. III, Sec. 13

Equally applicable to rape and coup d etat cases,both being punishable by reclusion perpetua


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The rationale of public self-defense appliesequally to detention prisoners and convictedprisoners

All prisoners whether under preventivedetention or serving final sentence can notpractice their profession nor engage in anybusiness or occupation, or hold office,elective or appointive, while in detention. Thisis a necessary consequence of arrest anddetention (People v. Hon. Maceda)


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In his contention that his election provides

the legal justification to allow him to serve hismandate, after the people, in their sovereigncapacity, elected him as Senator, his electoralvictory only signifies that when the voters

elected him to the Senate, they did so withfull awareness of the limitations on hisfreedom of actions, with knowledge that hecould achieve only such legislative results

which he could accomplish within theconfines of prison.


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The performance of legitimate and evenessential duties by public officers has neverbeen an excuse to free a person validly inprison.


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No member shall be questioned or heldliable in any forum other than his/herrespective Congressional body for any debateor speech in Congress or in any committee

thereof


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Protection is only against forum other thanthe Congress itself.

The speech or debate must be made inperformance of their duties as members ofCongress .


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The remarks must be made while thelegislature of the legislative committee is

functioning, that is in session

That they must be made in connection withthe discharge of official duties


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is to enable and encourage a representativeof the public to discharge his public trustwith firmness and success for it isindispensably necessary that he should enjoy

the fullest liberty of speech and that heshould be protected from resentment of everyone, however, powerful, to whom the exerciseof that liberty may occasion offense.(Osmea, Jr. v. Pendatun)


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x x x I am not angry. I am irate. I am

foaming in the mouth. I am homicidal. I amsuicidal. I am humiliated, debased, degraded.And I am not only that, I feel like throwing up to

be living my middle years in a country of thisnature. I am nauseated. I spit on the face of ChiefJustice Artemio Panganiban and his cohorts inthe Supreme Court, I am no longer interested inthe position [of Chief Justice] if I was to be

surrounded by idiots. I would rather be inanother environment but not in the SupremeCourt of idiots x x x.


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Courts do not interfere with the legislature orits members in the manner they perform theirfunctions in the legislative floor or incommittee rooms.

Her privilege speech as not actionablecriminally or in a disciplinary proceeding

under the Rules of Court


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Even parliamentary immunity must not beallowed to be used as a vehicle to ridicule,demean, and destroy the reputation of theCourt and its magistrates, nor as an armor for

personal wrath and disgust.

Parliamentary Immunities

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