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 - By Aurea Calica
