SC justices’ absence from flag ceremonies punishable

The repeated absence of some associate justices of the Supreme Court at its regular Monday flag-raising rites just because of their alleged “displeasure” over the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno may constitute a grave violation of Republic Act 8491, or the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines. It may also create the wrong impression in the minds of our youth, especially young students, that there is nothing wrong in not attending the school’s flag rites if they do not like their teachers.

Section 18 of RA 8491 provides that “all government offices and educational institutions shall observe the flag-raising ceremony every Monday morning” while Section 2 mandates that “reverence and respect at all times shall be accorded the flag (and) the anthem.” Its Section 50 provides that a violator of the law “shall be punished by a fine of not less than five thousand pesos or imprisonment for not more than one year; provided that for any second or additional offenses, both fine and imprisonment shall always be imposed.”

Pursuant to this law, the Supreme Court issued Circular No. 62-2001 on Sept. 21, 2001, directing all executive judges to supervise the holding of the flag rites in their courthouses and “ensure the attendance of all judges and court personnel in the rites.”

On March 25, 2009, the Supreme Court First Division ruled in Martinez vs. Lim, Case No. A. M. P-04-1795, that “flag ceremonies inspire patriotism and evoke the finest sentiments of love of country and people” and reiterated the law’s mandate for government offices to observe the Monday flag rites. The resolution was penned by former Chief Justice Renato Corona and concurred in by Associate Justices Consuelo Yñares-Santiago, Antonio Carpio and Teresita Leonardo-de Castro.

Last September 17 it was reported that, for the third time, several Supreme Court justices were again absent during the Monday flag-raising ceremony.

If there is anyone who should show strict compliance with the law, it is a justice of the Supreme Court; the justices are the embodiment of a law-abiding citizen of the land. Their repeated and deliberate absences from the flag-raising rites, which the law compels them to attend, may constitute betrayal of public trust, which is a ground for impeachment.

If the justices of the Supreme Court could compel lower courts and their personnel to comply with the flag law and penalize them for noncompliance therewith, there is no reason why the justices should be exempt from any punishment should they continue disregarding the law mandating them to attend the regular Monday flag ceremony.—ROMULO B. MACALINTAL, Las Piñas City