Recitation

 

                                                (image: youtube.com)

Kuyba inig laong ni titser na mag oral test ta kuman!

In academic writing, it is a long-standing standard to cite authors using established citation styles such as APA, among others. Proper citation not only gives due credit to the original sources but also informs readers that the theories and frameworks presented are grounded in widely accepted knowledge within the academic community. Conversely, inaccurate or erroneous citations undermine the credibility of a paper, rendering it unreliable and disconnected from factual and scholarly foundations.

Recently, the online sphere was set abuzz by the remarks of Senator Risa Hontiveros, who cited a jurisprudence in which the Supreme Court unanimously reversed its earlier decision on a particular case.

During a Senate session, lawmakers deliberated on the motion to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, considering the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling that declared the impeachment unconstitutional. Senator Risa Hontiveros raised this as a point of information during the Senate’s plenary session on August 6 of this year, challenging Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s assertion that such reversals had never occurred before.

This was the League of Cities of the Philippines vs. Commission on Elections dispute, which went through six decisions between 2008 and 2011, with the high court repeatedly reversing itself and granting motions for reconsideration.

On August 8, The Philippine Star’s Dominique Nicole Flores reported that Senator Risa Hontiveros corrected her earlier statement citing a Supreme Court en banc case as a unanimous decision later overturned, admitting that several rulings in the case were not, in fact, unanimous.

"Upon checking again, the many reversals in the League of Cities decisions were not decided unanimously," she wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday night, August 7.

Online discussions once again erupted, with some netizens cautioning Senator Hontiveros against engaging in a dispute with a seasoned litigation lawyer like Senator Marcoleta. Others remarked that she should ensure her facts are accurate before projecting mastery of the subject, warning that she was treading on dangerous ground. Some commenters further reflected that lawmakers should, at the very least, have formal academic units in law before earning the title of “honorable” member of the Senate.

As Schön (1983) emphasizes, professional competence is built upon a reflective integration of both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, making formal education a critical prerequisite for credibility in practice.

Beyond the surface of this brouhaha, many Filipinos reflected if there is a need to uphold the Supreme Court’s decision, regardless of who or what is at stake, given that the SC serves as the highest guardian of the Constitution. This perspective explains why even those perceived as anti-Duterte cast their votes in favor of archiving the Vice President’s impeachment, driven solely by the intent to adhere to the Court’s ruling.

Senate President Chiz Escudero underscored the importance of unwavering respect for judicial authority during the explanation of his “yes” vote, stating: “Respecting the court only when you win or when it aligns with your belief is not respect for me. It is plain arrogance… a power play.”

Many were reminded of the commanding presence of the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, who would stride into the Senate halls with fiery conviction, delivering impassioned lectures on the primacy of the Rule of Law and the necessity of deference to the Supreme Court. She firmly reminded her colleagues of the Senate’s rightful place within the constitutional framework, declaring: “They are based on the ideology that the impeachment court is not almighty, not absolute, not illimitable, and not more supreme than the Supreme Court.”

Yet, the lingering discussions now center on simple words and viral memes likening the Senate session to a classroom scene, some participants eager to show off, others confidently delivering AI-generated assertions, and a few remaining silent, visibly intimidated by the subject matter.

In the end, whether in the halls of the Senate or the walls of a classroom, credibility rests not on noise or bravado, but on mastery of facts, respect for the rule of law, and the humility to learn what one does not yet know.