MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday expressed confidence that the 14 justices of the Supreme Court (SC) – all appointees of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo – will eventually uphold the legality of President Aquino’s Truth Commission.
“We have to trust the institution. They (SC justices) are the final arbiters tasked to interpret the laws of the land. I’m sure they will uphold the validity of the Truth Commission based on the merits of the case,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.
Lacierda also defended the Truth Commission, saying “there’s no duplication of work,” and that its findings and recommendations will still be forwarded to the Office of the Ombudsman.
“We believe that the executive branch is well within its powers. We believe that the power was granted under the Administrative Code of 1987,” he said.
Lacierda challenged critics to file their case in court.
“They can file a case in the SC. From there we will have the opportunity to explain,” he said.
Lacierda also defended the integrity of Truth Commission head former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. and retired SC justice Romeo Callejo.
He said Callejo is “an authority in criminal law and a Bar reviewer.”
“I don’t think they are amateurish,” Lacierda told a briefing at Malacañang.
He said Mr. Aquino had to form an independent and collegial body so as to reduce burden on agencies with the same mandate.
Lacierda stressed the independent Truth Commission was formed to remove insinuations that Mr. Aquino is a “vindictive” President.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa earlier said Mr. Aquino would respect the findings and recommendations of the Truth Commission even if it absolves Arroyo on some alleged irregularities.
“No, he will not overrule the findings of the Commission because the purpose is to provide closure to the issues,” he said.
Findings of the panel will have to be submitted to the President and Congress, De Mesa explained, before filing it before Office of the Ombudsman if warranted.
He said the Ombudsman would find out if there was sufficient evidence to warrant the filing of a case before the Sandiganbayan.
The President signed Executive Order (EO) 1 last week creating the Truth Commission of 2010, which will have a lifespan through December 2012.
The five-man collegial body headed by Davide was tasked to put “to a closure” the allegations of corruption against Arroyo and her officials.
Critics, however, pointed out the Truth Commission is “constitutionally infirm” since it would need an action from Congress to carry out its mandate of investigating the supposed anomalies and irregularities of the Arroyo administration.
Sen. Franklin Drilon, however, defended the EO that created the Truth Commission, saying it could stand scrutiny before the SC.
Drilon, a former justice secretary, said that issuing EOs or administrative orders to create commissions has been the practice since the administration of former President Fidel Ramos.
He said the Arroyo administration also created four commissions by executive fiat and none of them were questioned for their legality.
Drilon pointed out that two fact-finding commissions were created by Arroyo through administrative orders, namely the Feliciano Commission and the Melo Commission in 2003 and 2006, respectively.
Just like the EO issued by President Aquino, Drilon said Arroyo issued administrative orders (AO) that also provided the same functions, powers and source of funding for the commissions created.
Drilon said the AOs that created the commissions under Arroyo had the powers of an investigative body under Section 37, Chapter 9, Book 1 of the Administrative Code of 1987.
“That is why we are wondering why the same was done during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and it was never questioned. The Truth Commission has the same powers as the commissions created by Arroyo. If it was valid under President Arroyo’s term, it should be valid today,” he said.
Drilon added the former president also issued EOs for the creation of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) and the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG).
Even former President Joseph Estrada issued an executive order that created the controversial Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission in 1998.
Ramos issued EO 3 creating the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC) in 1992 headed by then Vice President Estrada, Drilon added.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago earlier slammed the EO that created the Truth Commission, saying the power lies solely with Congress.
She argued that the power granted to the President under the Administrative Code is merely a reorganization of certain bodies and not its creation from scratch.
Sen. Joker Arroyo, for his part, said that the Truth Commission would be toothless because it would not have the power to compel attendance of certain individuals to its hearings.
Drilon admitted the Truth Commission may have to ask the help of the courts to issue subpoenas but as for compelling the production of documents from government agencies, there should be no problem.
“It can exercise delegated authority of the President. The President can compel the production of government documents. So this commission can also compel the production of government documents,” he said.
But as far as compelling Arroyo to appear before the Truth Committee, Drilon admitted this would not prosper.
“If she does not want to attend, she is a congresswoman, she is not part of the executive, you cannot compel her. There are inter-parliamentary courtesies. This is an executive creation (so) you cannot summon a senator of the land or a congressman of the House to appear,” Drilon said. With Marvin Sy - By Delon Porcalla
