CONFRONTATIONAL NOY SEEKS SUPPORT VS HIGH COURT ON TRUTH BODY
MANILA, DECEMBER 9, 2010 (TRIBUNE) President Aquino yesterday, in a statement, sought public support against the Supreme Court (SC), saying that many were dismayed by its decision voiding his truth commission, stressing that the sins of the past decade committed by the Arroyo administration can never be unearthed, and that the "dark chapter" of our history under former President Arroyo can never have a closure.
In his statement, he tried to weasel out of the SC ruling of the truth body as being unconstitutional, saying: "Is it a sin to ferret out the truth? Is it not an obligation to learn the trurth? Is it not a duty to punish those who violated the law? Is it not our mandate to clear the names of those accused without basis?
"I vow, as your president, that I will defend the Constitution. I vow to make the law real and I vow to give justice to each and every Filipino. Whoever is a supporter of truth also vows to do his duty to uphold the truth. What we want is the truth. We created the Truth Commission in order to close a dark chapter, and it is clear that we can only achieve this if we continue adhering to the truth and find out the truth."
Yet even as he vowed to defend the Constitution, it was clear that Aquino refuses to abide by the ruling of the SC, which is part of the constitutional duty of a president, since the high court is the final arbiter of constitutional questions.
But Noynoy said: "There are those who ask: Why do we need a new commission, since there are many institutions that are tasked to get at the truth? There is the Ombudsman. The Department of Justice that has so many things to do as the cases are piling up. Naturally if we pass this (cases against Arroyo) on to them, there will be a bigger workload for them. Justice will be slow and it will take years to resolve these cases. Justice delayed is justice denied. It is the right of the innocent to clear their names and it is the duty of the system to punish and make those who committed crimes answer to society for them. How do we get the solution if we do not find out what the problem is?
"If there is a commission that is focused on the corrupt during the decad, it is natural that such will be speeded up, and the faster it will be to see the light.
"We have an obligation," he said. "Are we going to allow the delay in bringing justice to the Filipino people?"
SC Chief Justice Renato Corona opted to remain silent on questions about his reaction to attacks hurled against the judiciary.
The only comment stated by Cororna was " Right is right and wrong is wrong" and "I am not in a position to speak of my feelings if I got hurt on barrage of criticsm against the Supreme court."
Corona advised media to read in the web sites of SC e-libraray on the recent decision and let them be the judge if the ruling is political or not.
Meanwhile, with the number of Aquino's proclamations and orders either being recalled, questioned or even declared unconstitutional by the courts for technical and legal flaws, former Presidential son, Ang Galing Pinoy Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo yesterday scored the Aquino administration and its allies for putting the blame on the past regime instead of admitting it (Aquino administration) had erred in many of its edicts it had issued.
"Welcome to the big league!" Arroyo said referring to the five-month old Aquino administration after the SC struck down his Executive Order 1.
"The national government is no student council government. Every edict, every proclamation issued by the office of the president should be carefully studied before being released," Arroyo chastised the Aquino administration adding the proclamation regarding the truth commission is not the first proclamation issued by the president found to be flawed, technically and legally.
"And every flawed presidential proclamation is a slap on their faces. I just hope they are honorable enough to respect the decision of the court and uphold the rule of law," he said.
Arroyo stressed the decision of the SC and its wisdom in protecting the rights of a person should be respected by everyone including those who are in power.
Arroyo also lambasted his family's critics who claimed the former president who is now representative of the second district of Pampanga, remains untouchable as evidenced by the number of magistrates who voted against the Truth Commission.
"That is downright stupid! The SC decision has nothing to do with GMA. It all boils down to the legal and moral flaw of the proclamation creating the truth commission particularly the violation of the constitutional provision on the equal protection clause," said Arroyo. "Their line of reasoning is obviously met to divert public attention from their ignorance of law and the politics of vengeance they are pursuing." With Aytch S, dela Cruz, Charlie V. Manalo and Pat C. Santos
Government to appeal SC ruling vs truth body By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated December 09, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (39)
MANILA, Philippines - The government will ask the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its decision voiding Executive Order 1 creating the Truth Commission.
Solicitor General Joel Cadiz said EO 1 did not violate the equal protection clause in the Constitution.
"I was asked about this issue during oral arguments on this case, and I asked them which of the past administrations should we include and enumerated past Presidents Erap (Joseph Estrada), (Fidel) Ramos, (Corazon) Aquino, (Ferdinand) Marcos, (Diosdado) Macapagal, (Carlos) Garcia," he said.
"I ended my question with (Ramon) Magsaysay."
Speaking to reporters, Cadiz said Malacañang considered practicality in limiting the coverage of the Truth Commission to the Arroyo administration.
"It is practical because evidence and documents are still intact," he said.
"There is immediateness and this is the distinction not considered by the Court."
Cadiz said the government's arguments before the SC were all correct.
"So, I asked the Supreme Court to please take a second look at its decision objectively," he said.
Cadiz said Arroyo should not think that she is already off the hook as the government is determined to do everything to investigate alleged anomalies during her administration.
The SC has been protecting Arroyo as shown by its ruling on the national broadband network contract with Chinese firm ZTE Corp., he added.
On the other hand, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the SC ruling voiding the Truth Commission was a political decision.
"The voting by the members of the Court on political questions, namely, on actions of the Aquino administration against the past administration, readily shows that the lines which now divide decision-making in the Court are principally political and no longer doctrinal," she said.
"There is basis for the speculation that the investment of the past administration in the Office of the Ombudsman and High Court are now paying off, as present executive actions to correct injustices and abuses of the past regime and to punish the perpetrators are frustrated at every turn, not for lack of effort on the part of the present administration, but because of wise institutional investment of the past regime," she said.
Ochoa: We will not resign
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. rejected yesterday calls for Aquino's legal team to resign.
"You know the Truth Commission is only one way to implement the campaign promise of the President that he will seek justice by going after corrupt cases that were committed before," he said.
"There are many other ways to do it under our existing legal system so we are not losing hope and we are going to continue to pursue the justice that (the President) promised would prevail, especially in terms of corruption involving the Arroyo administration. "
Speaking over Radio Mo Nationwide, Ochoa said he was taking criticisms constructively as part of the job.
He recognizes the "seniority and experience" of senators and other critics from government, he added.
However, Ochoa said critics have no basis to call for their resignation just because they were not getting favorable decisions from the SC, which is dominated by appointees of Arroyo.
"I think he's (referring to former senator Ernesto Maceda) making judgment harshly," he said.
"I hope that if he sees something that is not very accurate or correct, we are just here ready to listen to what he has to say. After all, as I said, we are not belittling their abilities too, right?
"We welcome (comments). On my part, I always consult anybody who wants to help, and I don't deny that I do not know everything.
"One person cannot do all the work so we need all the help we can get. So that is our attitude, especially so that we are relatively new in the ball game, although I have a little experience in government, national leadership of government is different, isn't it?"
Ochoa said he could also understand that he would be the center of criticism, being the executive secretary.
"But I suppose I can assure the public that we are not being remiss in our jobs and we are all doing our best and we are always open to suggestions," he said.
"You know in government, it's a continuing system of improving yourself on a daily basis.
"We are not saying that we do not have any mistakes. You cannot avoid that you sometimes miss to cover some considerations. But we are ready to adjust and even correct our works if they have any negative impact."
Opposition: Don't use Arroyo as scapegoat
The opposition at the House of Representatives asked Malacañang yesterday to stop using the former president as scapegoat for their successive legal defeats before the SC.
Ang Galing Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo said the SC decision has nothing to do with his mother, Pampanga Rep. Arroyo.
"It all boils down to the legal and moral flaw of the proclamation creating the Truth Commission, particularly the violation of the constitutional provision on the equal protection clause," he said.
"Their (Malacañang officials) line of reasoning is obviously meant to divert public attention from their ignorance of law and the politics of vengeance they are pursuing."
House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said the SC decision did not set back the government's campaign against graft and corruption.
"What the Supreme Court decision stops is partisan hostility and political vengeance disguised as crusade against corruption, search for truth and quest for closure," he said.
"What is set back and prohibited are discriminatory shortcuts which deny equal protection to targeted respondents, like singling out officials of the previous administration as if corrupt practices were exclusive to them."
The Aquino administration has "meager competence and a lot of braggadocio," Lagman said.
Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay and Lanao del Sur Rep. Hussein Pangandaman said Malacañang's latest setback should serve as a lesson as they called for the removal of "incompetent" and "ignorant" Cabinet officials.
"We will encounter the same kind of situation in the future over and over again because of the way certain officials make decisions," Magsaysay said.
Lagman dismissed allegations that the SC was controlled by Arroyo.
"If you recall, the previous administration lost so many major cases before the SC that is composed of her appointees," he said.
"Supreme Court Justices are independent jurists who are not accountable to whoever appointed them, but only to the majesty of the law, the ascendancy of conscience and the merits of a case."
Bishop to Aquino: Look for other options
Th former president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines called on Aquino yesterday to look for other options to ferret out the truth on reported anomalies during the previous administration after the SC voided the Truth Commission.
Speaking on the CBCP's official news service, Archbishop of Jaro, Iloilo Angel Lagdameo said some people are scared of things that may be unearthed by the Truth Commission.
"So I think the government must also find other means to ferret out the truth especially if it's for the common good, or find the truth behind alleged graft cases that affected so many people," he said.
Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said he would have liked to know the truth and for the Truth Commission to perform its task.
"The idea was good in order to know the truth.They should not surrender," he said.
Marbel, South Cotabato Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez said the the SC decision shows that Arroyo continues to be a force to be reckoned with.
"GMA (Arroyo) is still very strong," he said.
Former Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the SC decision only affirmed suspicions that the Truth Commission duplicated the functions of the Department of Justice.
"Speaking concretely about the fiasco, it is becoming more and more clear that the President is in dire need of more capable advisers and the competence of advisers is not measured by mere friendship and political debts," he said.
Cruz said the Truth Commission should be placed under the DOJ.
"It must be clear that the Truth Commission would not only be after the prime suspect in the former administration but anybody who is accused of capital graft and corruption," he said. "You cannot create a body just for that alone."
Davide: Nothing ambiguous in EO 1
Truth Commission chairman Hilario Davide, Jr. sees nothing ambiguous in Executive Order 1.
"My position is I cannot find anything in the EO that could justify unconstitutionality," he said.
"I consider this Truth Commission as one of the strongest pillars of the new culture of honesty in government service to replace a culture of impunity characterized by scandalous disregard for public office."
Lawyer Carlos Medina Jr. said the SC appeared to be disallowing the Truth Commission from investigating massive cases of graft and corruption.
The commission's focus is not the alleged wrongdoing in the Arroyo administration, he clarified, but their mandate is to focus on a specific period that the alleged wrongdoing was committed, not on a specific person.
The singling out is not of a specific individual but of a specific period, he added.
Medina said the Truth Commission's mandate is to look at massive cases of graft and corruption committed during the period 2001 to 2010.
Medina said it could relate to anybody who was with the judiciary, Congress, or with any other government office who may or may not be allies of Arroyo. – With Edu Punay, Paolo Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Pia Lee-Brago
----------------------------------------------------------
© Copyright, 2010 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
----------------------------------------------------------
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------
