|
By Angelo S. Samonte And Anthony
Vargas Reporters
President Gloria Arroyo,
apparently bowing to pressure from many sectors, revoked the
controversial Executive Order (EO) 464 that prevents officials from
attending congressional hearings on alleged corruption in the
government unless permitted by Malacañang.
“Effectively immediately, I am
revoking EO 464,” President Arroyo said Wednesday. “Executive
officials may no longer invoke EO 464 to excuse non-attendance from
legislative inquiries.”
“Executive officials are
instructed to abide by the Constitution, existing laws and
jurisprudence when invited to legislative inquiries,” she added.
The influential Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines expressed surprise over the
President’s decision to scrap Executive Order 464, even though
they had asked that it be done.
Still, Iloilo Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo, the president of the bishops’ group, thanked Malacañang
for acting on their appeal for the revocation of the controversial
order. The appeal was made last week through a pastoral letter.
The decision to lift Executive
Order 464 was reached after Mrs. Arroyo met with representatives of
an “influential religious group,” including some Catholic
bishops, at Discovery Suites hotel in Pasig City, Metro Manila.
Lagdameo said the meeting with
the President was not sanctioned by the bishops’ group, and those
who were there attended on their own.
A highly reliable source told The
Manila Times that there were at least five bishops “close” to
the Arroyo administration at the meeting.
“I was told about by the
dialogue, but no formal invitation [was sent to me],” Lagdameo
said. “If ever I will attend, I have to discuss it [first] with
the Permanent Council [of the bishops’ group], so we will know
what she will present.”
Still suspicious
Pangasinan Archbishop Oscar Cruz,
a staunch critic of the Arroyo government, sounded the alarm on Mrs.
Arroyo’s decision to lift the executive order.
“There must be something more
than what appears [to be] because if Malacañang will allow the
officials concerned to speak the whole truth … it’s like putting
the gun to the head,” Cruz told reporters.
Palace position
The Palace declined to disclose
the names of the church leaders who attended the meeting, saying
they want to remain anonymous.
“We are duty-bound to honor
that request,” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye told reporters during
a teleconference Wednesday.
Although the President rescinded
Executive Order 464, officials from the executive branch attending
congressional inquiries will remain protected from some abuses,
Bunye said.
“The rights and dignity of
Cabinet members will still be safeguarded and there will no abusive
language from legislators in future inquiries,” he added.
When asked to comment on the
effect of the revocation on executive privilege, which is still
being heard before the Supreme Court, Bunye said executive officials
will abide by the jurisprudence.
“Executive privilege is another
matter which is still being deliberated. But we assure you that
Malacañang will honor whatever decision the Supreme Court has to
issue [on it],” he added.
Bunye said the decision of Mrs.
Arroyo was “welcomed warmly” by those who attended the meeting.
He, however, added that there could be some sectors that may still
remain unhappy with the revocation.
Executive privilege
The decision to revoke Executive
Order 464 came days after one of the President’s lawyers said even
if the controversial edict is scrapped, executive privilege would
still be in place as it is enshrined in the Constitution. Former
socioeconomic planning Secretary Romulo Neri, during congressional
hearings on an aborted telecommunications project, invoked such
privilege in refusing to testify on the allegedly graft-tainted,
$330-million national broadband network project.
Executive privilege, according to
the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, is not written in the
Philippine Constitution but is a recognized doctrine in US
jurisprudence.
The group’s secretary-general,
Neri Javier Colmenares, in a statement, said such privilege is only
used if the withholding of the information is necessary to the
discharge of “highly important executive responsibilities.”
This privilege, Colmenares added,
is based on the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers,
exempts the executive from disclosure requirements applicable to the
ordinary citizen or organization where such exemption is necessary
to the discharge of highly important executive responsibilities
involved in maintaining governmental operations.
Attempts by Palace officials such
as Neri to withhold information, the lawyer said, is without legal
or constitutional basis under Executive Order 464 or the doctrine of
executive privilege.
Executive Order 464, which
ensures the observance of the principle of separation of powers
among the branches of the government, and protects the rights of
public officials appearing in legislative inquiries, was issued by
Malacañang in September 2005.
It came about after the
appearance of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales in a
Senate inquiry that ended with him being detained and held in
contempt for refusing to answer questions from senators.
The Senate is investigating
allegations that Mrs. Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel “Mike”
Arroyo, and a close political ally of theirs, former poll chief
Benjamin Abalos Sr., sought millions of dollars in kickbacks from
China’s ZTE Corp. to help the Chinese firm win the broadband deal.
Both denied the allegations.
The President cancelled the
project contract with ZTE Corp. after the scandal erupted.
Mrs. Arroyo’s lifting of the
executive order was seen to pave the way for Neri, a former member
of her Cabinet with key knowledge of the broadband deal, to take the
stand.
Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr., a
government official and former consultant to Neri, has alleged at
the Senate inquiry that Mrs. Arroyo’s husband and Abalos had
demanded $130 million in bribes from the deal.
The controversy caused opposition
groups to hold street rallies calling for her to step down from
office.
While the Catholic bishops have
stopped short of joining those calls, two former Presidents—Corazon
Aquino and Joseph Estrada—and major business groups have backed
the demonstrations.
In a speech before government
employees Wednesday, Mrs. Arroyo accused the opposition of using the
broadband issue to advance their political ambitions.
|
