Comedy in the Supreme Court must stop

THE HEARINGS on the Torre de Manila case in the Supreme Court have become a circus! To us who are intently following this case in the Inquirer, it is already pretty clear that there is no law prohibiting the construction of that tower outside the heritage zone. No less than senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio got that out in the open. No other justice has contradicted him. In fact, the petitioner’s counsel himself could not point to any specific law being violated.

Carpio asked the lawyer for the Torre developer: “If there is no law prohibiting it, what is stopping you?” (“SC Justice Carpio: no law vs Torre construction,” Front Page, 8/12/15) Huh? Has he forgotten that the Supreme Court, of which he is a member, issued a temporary restraining order to stop the construction, which order is still in effect? What the heck is going on?

Why is the Supreme Court wasting its precious time on a case that should have been dismissed outright? It should have been plain enough to see on the face of the petition itself that it is frivolous—replete with nothing but motherhood statements. Are there no more cases on the Court’s calendar needing urgent attention? Is its backlog of other undecided cases a thing of the past already? Or are the justices just grandstanding?

This case is causing concerned parties too much anguish and anxiety. Many relatives (some overseas Filipino workers) have invested life-savings to acquire units in that project. And still, more oral arguments are being set to be heard—on nonissues?

When will this end? This comedy has got to stop already!

—RIMALDO PACIFICO, pacific.rim.aldo@gmail.com