PALACE WARNED ON REVIVING EXECUTIVE ORDER 1 / PALACE MAY ISSUE NEW EO
MANILA, JANUARY 4, 2011 (STAR) By Paolo Romero - The head of the House opposition bloc cautioned Malacañang yesterday about its plan to issue a new executive order reviving the controversial Truth Commission after the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that the original EO was unconstitutional.
"We should not trifle with the SC," House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman of Albay told The STAR.
"What is that option (issuing a new EO)? They don't believe their MR (motion for reconsideration) is going to prosper? If they plan to issue a new EO, then they should formally withdraw their motion," Lagman said.
Lagman, who led opposition lawmakers in filing the petition to block the creation of the Truth Commission before the SC last year, said he was puzzled by the announcement of President Aquino's plan to issue a new EO while the SC ruling is still on appeal. The High Tribunal declared the creation of the Truth Commission unconstitutional last December.
Lagman said the Aquino administration was wasting time in its campaign against corruption by focusing too much on the creation of the Truth Commission because the President "wants to imprint his logo on everything he does."
"If they are really serious in fighting corruption, why don't they file charges before the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman against possibly errant officials of the previous Arroyo administration?" he said.
"There is lack of seriousness in their campaign against corruption," he said.
A second EO, Lagman said, would also likely face rejection due to "fatal constitutional infirmities."
The Truth Commission's task is to investigate alleged irregularities under the Arroyo administration.
The SC rejected the creation of the Truth Commission contained in EO 1 for violating the Constitution's equal protection clause. The SC said the EO singled out for investigation former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
"Even if the President amends EO No. 1 to cover the investigation of prior administrations, its fatal constitutional infirmities will still persist," Lagman said.
He said the five justices who wrote separate concurring opinions ruled that Aquino violated the doctrine of separation of powers when he arrogated the sole prerogative of Congress to create public offices like the commission.
The justices, including those who dissented, agreed that the Truth Commission as created under EO 1 constitutes a public office, Lagman said.
Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay, for her part, said it is the prerogative of the President to decide what he wants to do next in the light of the SC's ruling.
"When it comes to good governance and ferreting out the truth, there should be no majority or minority, opposition or administration. We should be united in fighting corruption. But the Aquino administration must not be selective and must learn its lesson from the SC decision," she said. "He should also look and investigate his own people because of reports of anomalies in their respective offices."
DOJ: Palace may issue new EO on truth body By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) Updated January 03, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (201)
MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang might issue another order to replace Executive Order No. 1 creating the Truth Commission, if the Supreme Court (SC) upholds its previous ruling declaring the EO unconstitutional, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.
"The better option is just to issue a new EO, a new EO on the Truth Commission, this time addressing the objections of the SC, (if our) motion for reconsideration (will be denied)," De Lima told Palace reporters in a recent interview.
She said amending EO 1 might not be legally feasible at this point since 10 of the 15 SC justices had decided that it violated the equal protection clause guaranteed under the 1987 Constitution.
"How can you amend something that has been declared null and void? So the better option is to just issue a new EO altogether, taking into consideration now the objections discussed in the majority opinion," De Lima said.
"One strong option is really to just issue another EO. That's one of the strong options. (The) amendment is (quite unclear)," she said.
She indicated that this option would depend on how quickly the SC would rule on the government's appeal.
"It all depends now on the progress of the MR (motion for reconsideration) before the SC, whether other options would be considered at this point. We hope that the SC will expeditiously dispose of that MR," De Lima said.
President Aquino earlier hinted that he was bent on creating the Truth Commission.
"There is a motion for reconsideration, but there are other avenues open to us in ferreting out the truth and we will exercise those options," he said.
"Amending is one option, (but) again we'll announce later specifics of what we intend to do in the interim while the MR is being heard, or if the SC will take cognizance of our MR," he added.
Aquino alleged that the SC was biased toward him, citing the voided EO 1 creating the Truth Commission that is not different from the commissions created by his predecessors, whose legal precedents he religiously observed.
He made a direct comparison to commissions formed by past presidents that included the Presidential Commission on Good Government that was created by his late mother, former President Cory Aquino, in the early 1990s.
Aquino's other predecessors, including former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, had formed six commissions.
"Ano ba ang pinagkaiba noon sa ginawa (what is the difference when), for instance, former President Joseph Estrada set up the Saguisag Commission to study the 1998 Centennial Expo? That was one particular project of the entire Ramos administration," he argued
"Ms. Arroyo herself had set up not less than five and probably more commissions to study various problems," Aquino said, apparently referring to the Feliciano, Melo and Zenarosa commissions, and the one that investigated the Meralco bribery scandal in the Court of Appeals.
The President could not hide his disappointment over the SC that voted 10-5 to reject the Truth Commission that is supposed to be headed by former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.
Aquino highlighted the obstacle this ruling could have on the reform agenda of his administration, noting that it normally takes six years for every judiciary level to resolve a petition, in which case his term until June 2016 would have ended by then.
In defense of the SC, spokesman Midas Marquez said the tribunal was not being harsh on Aquino and was in fact supportive of his reform agenda, if only he and his colleagues really understood the ruling.
"We are applying the law fairly and equally to all... the Court is not, and will not, single out anyone," he said, adding that if only executive department fully understood the ponencia of Justice Jose Mendoza, it would have a better grasp of what really went wrong.
A key portion of the ruling penned by Mendoza stated that "the search for the truth must be within constitutional bounds."
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