SC strikes down truth body

The Supreme Court (SC) majority yesterday voted to declare unconstitutional President Aquino’s Executive Order No. 1 creating a truth commission which was tasked to investigate anomalies during the Arroyo administration.

“In a vote of 10 to 5, the court voted to declare unconstitutional EO 1 creating the Philippine Truth Commission of 2010,” acting SC public information chief Ma. Victoria Gleoresty Guerra said.

“The majority (ruled that EO 1) violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution inasmuch as it singles out investigation of graft and corrupt practices in the previous administration,” she added.

The Aquino administration through Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz earlier had claimed that extending the scope of investigations indefinitely beyond the Arroyo administration is unrealistic and, as such, a matter of practice an incumbent administration only looks into the dealings of the one which preceded it.

Unconvinced Chief Justice Renato Corona, Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Presbitero Velasco, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Martin Villarama, Jose Perez and Jose Mendoza voted to declare the EO creating Philippine Truth Commission (PTC) unconstitutional.

The PTC headed by former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. would have investigated the countless corruption scandals during the Arroyo administration.

Senior Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Conchita Carpio-Morales, Eduardo Nachura,

Roberto Abad, and Ma. Lourdes Sereno dissented from the majority ruling.

Carpio was Arroyo’s first appointee to the high court but had a well publicized falling out with the Arroyos, prompting the former chief executive to appoint Corona as chief justice on May 12, days before Arroyo was scheduled to step down from office.

Two senators earlier blasted the PTC as an attempt by disgruntled parties to get back at former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“It’s like they gave it a gun and they don’t care whoever gets hit,” said Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, who noted that the commission had no budget, its constitutionality was being challenged in the high court and that it would only duplicate the review of cases that have been probed to death in Congress.

Sen. Joker Arroyo questioned Malacañang’s move to create a new body just to go after Arroyo when it would most likely override its findings not to its liking.

“This is far different from other successful presidential commissions. It merely mimics the function of the Ombudsman where anybody can file cases regarding corruption of unconscionable proportion,” Santiago said. “They did that because in their view, the Ombudsman (Merceditas Gutierrez) is a close ally of the Arroyo couple.”’

Reacting to reports of the SC ruling its EO unconstitu-tional,Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr. said the OSG is preparig the motion for reconsideration (MR) and will explore other options available for Malacañang to challenge the high court’s decision once they formally receive a copy of the SC ruling.

“We have yet to see the reasoning of the justices. We will file a motion for reconsideration—that’s the legal remedy that we can do for now. We have to go over their opinion,” Ochoa said.

He added that they are saddened by the SC majority’s verdict favoring the standpoint of the petitioners who questioned the legality of the PTC but that this setback does not leave the Aquino administration hopeless in going after the supposed ills of the previous administration.

“The Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of Executive Order No. 1 will not deter us from pursuing measures necessary to look into the allegations of corruption by the previous administration. While this decision may hamper and perhaps delay our efforts to obtain justice for the people, we remain steadfast in our commitment to scrutinize the numerous allegations and accusation in our quest for truth,” Ochoa remarked in a formal statement released hours later by his office.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, for his part, said they are certainly disappointed over this setback because it will definitely affect the so-called reforms and accountability that the Aquino administration wants to implement.

He, however, hinted that this particular development should not serve as reason for the EO1 petitioners to celebrate early triumph because the Palace still has a “fighting chance” given the fact that five magistrates have dissented the ruling of the majority.

“If there are dissenters, hopefully the motion for reconsideration can convince the others—those who ruled with the majority to see the side of the government,” Lacierda said.

“The EO was properly drafted. There should not be a statement (against the competence of) the Executive Secretary. It was really a disagreement on constitutionality by two different parties. The Supreme Court apparently sided with the petitioner (but) we believe that our position is better. And so, we will, again, argue that with a motion for reconsideration,” Lacierda stressed.

To date, most if not all, of the Palace documents being crafted by Ochoa and are subsequently signed by Aquino have met loud criticisms from various legal luminaries and critics alike.

Lacierda said Aquino has already been informed through short message service about this “unfortunate thing” but that there was no answer from Aquino.

Members of the House minority bloc led by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo welcomed the decision of the SC declaring the creation of the Truth Commission as unconstitutional.

“It struck down incursions of the President into the realm of legislative authority and protected the sanctity of civil liberties against governmental derogation,” Lagman said yesterday. He said that the Supreme Court apparently ruled in favor of his petition on the grounds that: Executive Order No. 1 which created the Truth Commission is unconstitutional for arrogating the power of the Congress to create and fund a public office; The Truth Commission unlawfully duplicates and supplants the constitutional and statutory jurisdiction of the Ombudsman over cases of graft and corruption involving public officials; and The Truth Commission illegally targets solely officials of the Arroyo administration in violation of the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

He said that the petition was filed not to protect the officials of the Arroyo administration but to preserve the separation of powers between the executive and legislative departments and protect the people from unequal treatment of the government.

“Partisan hostility and discrimination under the pretense of search for truth and closure cannot be legitimized.The Supreme Court remains to be the sanctuary of civil liberties,” Lagman said.

Majority leader Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II said that President Aquino should consider creating a task force instead of a truth commission.

An opposition senator yesterday raised alarm over what he observed as emerging clash between the Executive and the judiciary, with the Supreme Court throwing to the waste bin President Aquino’s first ever executive order, establishing the PTC due to its unconstitutionality.

Senator Arroyo could not help but suspect the timing of the high court’s issuance of the ruling on PTC just as when there were reports on mass leave among the ranks in the judiciary to protest the cut in their budgetary allocation for 2011.

The senator, who from the very beginning had aired misgivings over the issuance of EO No. 1, said he already anticipated such decision considering the legal questions he had previously noted.

“But what worries me is that with this decision of the SC plus the decision of the trial judges who wore black band, and then expressing their dissatisfaction over the reduction of their budget, it would seem that there might be some kind of collision course it would seem that there might be some kind of a collision course between the Executive and the judiciary and that is very unfortunate.

“So you have the SC ruling as unconstitutional the very first EO of President Noynoy and the judges, they expressed their digression. So let’s hope that this doesn’t get worse. The worst thing that can happen is for the judiciary and the President to be at odds,” the senator said in a press conference.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile dismissed Arroyo’s assessment although he’s in unison on the matter of legal loopholes in setting up the PTC.

“Of course you cannot deny the fact that almost all the people there are appointees or recommendees of the former president, but I don’t think these people are that beholden to her to disregard the independence of the judiciary. So I would presume and grant them good faith that they rendered this decision based on their belief that that is the correct rule to be followed,” he said.

Enrile practically blamed those surrounding President Aquino saying that the Chief Executive should have been at least warned on the validity of the creation of PTC, adding that he expected much from former SC Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and other former high court magistrates tapped to sit in the body in providing assistance insofar as studying the legal technicalities of EO 1. –Benjamin B. Pulta with Aytch S. Dela Cruz, Gerry Baldo and Angie M Rosales, Daily Tribune