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Anew confrontation between Malacañang and the Senate
over Executive Order 464 is now inevitable after executive officials
continued to invoke it as excuse in not attending Senate hearings.
As I was writing this column, the all-senators caucus scheduled had
not yet started but a consensus to question this before the Supreme
Court is already very visible.
Senators perceived to be friendly
to Malacañang like Dick Gordon, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Juan
Ponce Enrile and Joker Arroyo do not hide their resentment of the
continued invoking of E.O. 464. The Supreme Court had already ruled
that there could be no blanket claim of executive privilege, the
main excuse of the order, and that there should be clear citing of
the reason why it is being invoked. Even if the reason is cited, it
is still up to the senators to determine if the reason is valid or
not.
A year after Joker had
successfully argued the Senate case against E.O. 464, executive
officials and military officers are still using it to avoid
appearing at Senate inquiries in aid of legislation. I note that
these investigations pertain to the Garci tape and the $330-million
ZTE contract controversies. I am not as enthusiastic about the Garci
hearing as that on the ZTE, which has remained a mystery to most.
When Erap was convicted, the
administration ecstatically said that it showed nobody was above the
law and that the campaign against graft and corruption was bearing
fruit. This line would be more believable if Malacañang would not
hide behind a questionable order and become open about the ZTE
contract. As Sen. Dick Gordon said, the absence of executive
officials in Senate hearings would only raise more questions.
Joker, however, is cautioning his
colleagues against rash actions to force executive officials to
attend Senate inquiries. He said that standing committees could
immediately issue subpoenas to uncooperative witnesses but this
would be at the risk of losing a contemplated case against E.O. 464
before the Supreme Court. He explained that under the high tribunal
ruling, the rights of resource persons must be respected.
“This means that we must first
issue an invitation. If they refuse, then we issue a subpoena. If
they still won’t attend, then and only then could we cite them for
contempt and order their arrest. These three steps are
unavoidable,” he told hotheaded senators who want to immediately
issue subpoenas.
Secretary Romulo Neri could have
been the first official to be subpoenaed had he not left a budget
hearing so soon. Neri was among those invited Tuesday to the ZTE
hearing, but he had already confirmed his attendance at the budget
hearing set by Sen. Edgardo Angara. Sen. Nene Pimentel wanted Sen.
Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the blue-ribbon committee, to post
a sergeant-at-arms officer at the budget hearing room so Neri could
not leave and could be forced to attend the ZTE hearing. When Nene
made the motion, however, the budget hearing was already over by 10
minutes and Neri had already left the Senate premises.
Barangay polls to go on
The House vote for the
postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections set
on October 29 was very impressive. It was 149-50 for the bill
authored by Rep. Eddie Gullas of Cebu. Well, I have bad news for
EddieGul and the House. The Senate does not seem likely to follow
suit.
The Senate list of priority bills
does not include that seeking the postponement of the barangay
elections. The senators identified their priority bills in a caucus,
and Senate President Manuel Villar was hopeful that the chamber
could pass them before the Christmas break. It was unlike the
situation in 2004 when the senators had agreed to pass the bill
deferring the election of officials of the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao.
The bill of EddieGul has no
counterpart in the Senate. This means that the House bill will be
considered by the Senate once it is officially transmitted. The
Senate Committees on Electoral Reforms and on Local Governments
would still have to conduct public hearings which could take some
time. And considering the lengthy debates on the floor that is par
for the course in the Senate, I doubt if EddieGul’s bill would be
approved by the Senate before October 13 when the 14th Congress will
have its first break. Note that the barangay election is scheduled
for October 29 and that the Commission on Elections has been going
full steam ahead preparing for it.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com
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