EX-SC Justice Tijam Warns: Impeachment Proceedings Threaten Due Process, Future Elections

EX-SC Justice Tijam Warns: Impeachment Proceedings Threaten Due Process, Future Elections

By Bing Jabadan – TheNATIONWEEK.com | October 17, 2026

MANILA, Philippines – Retired Supreme Court Justice Noel Gimenez Tijam has sharply criticized the recent impeachment proceedings, asserting that they are designed to manipulate the political landscape for the 2028 National Elections. He also suggests a coordinated legal campaign against political figures perceived as adversaries of the current administration. With the sudden withdrawal of three Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President, Justice Tijam states that scrutiny has shifted from the Vice President to the institutions involved: Congress, the Ombudsman, and the Executive Department.

Justice Tijam highlights critical “red flags” demanding immediate attention:

• Due Process and the “Kangaroo Court” Accusation: Will the Senate Impeachment Court allow the defense to present counter-evidence against the prosecution’s now-withdrawn articles, which remain part of the official record? A denial, Justice Tijam warns, would reinforce suspicions of a “Kangaroo Court,” undermining fundamental principles of due process and fair play. Should the defense’s motion to expunge this evidence be denied, it would, in his view, invalidate the entire proceedings due to bias and prejudice, constituting a mistrial.

• Accountability for Wasted Resources and Obstruction: Justice Tijam questions whether the Senate Court will cite prosecutors for contempt due to disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice. He emphasizes the substantial waste of legislative time and public resources over several months for ultimately abandoned proceedings. A failure by the Senate to act, he argues, would expose weak leadership that is condescending to the defense and subservient to the prosecution.

• Misuse of Public Funds and Complicity: The retired Justice points to the squandering of “hundreds of millions of public funds” on a “bogus and malicious persecution.” He asserts that if Congress fails to sanction these prosecutors for unethical behavior, through suspension or removal, it will be deemed complicit in this misuse of public money.

• Ombudsman’s Critical Role and Potential Impeachment: Justice Tijam stresses the Ombudsman’s imperative to investigate the “illegal disbursement and wasteful spending” by prosecutors who abandoned the three impeachment articles. He warns that any hesitation or weak investigation by the Ombudsman could lead to their own impeachment.

Justice Tijam concludes with a stark assessment: any “weak or languid action” by these government agencies will inevitably lead to greater instability. This, he predicts, will cast a detrimental shadow on the Philippines’ regional standing at the forthcoming November ASEAN Summit and project an image of “bad governance” globally. 

For the “awakened Filipino people,” he foresees this “veneer of syndicated kakistocracy and mobocracy” will have severe repercussions on the 2028 elections. Without upholding ethical standards and implementing meaningful reforms, Justice Tijam warns, the Philippines risks transitioning into a “fragile or failing state.”

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