PALACE WON'T BUDGE ON EXECUTIVE BAN
MANILA, September 30, 2005 (STAR) By Paolo Romero and Delon Porcalla - Malacañang stood its ground yesterday on the issuance of Executive Order 464, which prevents officials from appearing before congressional probes without permission of President Arroyo, saying the ongoing Senate inquiries were "disguised impeachment proceedings" and "investigations in aid of destabilization."Administration lawmakers came to the President’s defense, saying her executive order is constitutional and that a similar order had been issued by former President Corazon Aquino.
In a hastily called midmorning Cabinet meeting at Malacañang, Mrs. Arroyo justified her issuance of the controversial EO, saying the directive was meant to protect Cabinet secretaries and other members of the executive branch from harassment in congressional investigations.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, who was one of those who drafted the EO along with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Merceditas Gutierrez and Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, said the President called for the meeting to have her directive clearly explained to the non-lawyers in the Cabinet.
"The President made it clear that we are not declaring war on the Senate but only protecting her officials from rude, insulting and demeaning treatment from the senators and to (restore) order, dignity and statesmanship in the relations between the Palace and the Senate," Gonzalez told The STAR shortly after the meeting.
"We have to make it very clear to them that this is our position as a co-equal branch of government," he said, adding that senators themselves violated their own rules governing Senate inquiries, which call for courtesy and civility.
Officials present during the meeting said the mood was somber and Mrs. Arroyo was stern throughout the meeting as she listened to the concerns of some Cabinet officials, including Presidential Management Staff Rigoberto Tiglao and Environment Secretary Michael Defensor, over the possible public backlash from the EO.
Defensor said the Cabinet officials were heartened that the President was doing her best to protect them from harassment.
Gonzalez and Defensor said Mrs. Arroyo and the rest of the Cabinet felt the ongoing Senate investigation was an attempt to revive the impeachment bid that was killed in the House of Representatives last month and to destabilize the government.
The investigations into the so-called "Hello, Garci" audiotapes and the North Rail project, according to Gonzalez, were the same issues opposition leaders had tried to include in the junked impeachment complaint.
"We’re seeing through these investigations, which are all meant to degrade and attack the President," he said.
Defensor said Cabinet members would continue to fully cooperate with the Senate to clarify any issue or allegation raised against the Arroyo administration.
"We are not running away from issues being raised against us as long as they are really in aid of legislation," he said. "But these are clearly meant to destroy the President and topple her government, and we will fight such efforts."
Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the senators "started it when they insulted and embarrassed a Cabinet official who was supposed to be the alter-ego of the President," referring to the grilling of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales by senators that landed him in the hospital for high blood pressure and low blood sugar levels.
Bunye said the Senate has wasted so much time conducting investigations that none of the 314 national and local bills passed by the House have been approved in the Senate.
"These panel investigations, which are often aired live on national television, have wasted taxpayers’ money and served no other purpose than to damage the reputations of those who agree to appear," he said. "Some officials who attend the hearings are persecuted as though they are guilty of unsubstantiated charges."
Bunye dismissed allegations that the Palace would trample on the principle of "checks and balances" between the branches of government, saying that Executive officials could attend hearings on a case-to-case basis.
Been done before
Congressmen said the EO complies with the law, despite criticisms that it was meant to strip Congress of its power to check the alleged excesses of the Executive department.
"Aquino also claimed executive privilege on Sept. 29, 1987 in issuing (Memorandum 112) for the appearance of Executive heads and officers in congress hearings," House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles said.
He noted that "as far as this House is concerned, we have never abused any witness or resource person, nor have we used hearings for partisan politics, destabilization (efforts) or (to) weaken the state."
"What’s the big fuss about this? It is well within the powers of the President. And besides, there is nothing new since even former President Aquino herself has used this before," Nograles said.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte said EO 464 is in accordance with the law, and was designed "only to prevent trial by publicity, which is always victimizing members of the First Family. This is also to ensure that Cabinet officials are not insulted and embarrassed during legislative inquiries."
Bunye explained that under Memo 112, signed by then executive secretary Catalino Macaraig, officials must seek approval from the President three to five days before they are to appear before any legislative investigations on their own or upon the invitation of Congress.
In the same memo, the Senate and the House were required to state the specific questions to be answered by the invited Cabinet officials. It also stated that in matters of national security, the appearance must be held in an executive session and not a public hearing.
Invites to continue
The House will respect Mrs. Arroyo’s EO 464 but will continue to invite executive department heads and military officers nonetheless.
In a statement, House officials led by Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said they respect the "inherent right of the President to claim executive privilege under the Constitution with respect to appearances in Congress of Executive department heads and Executive officers who, in her judgment, are covered by such privilege."
They said they would continue to invite these officials to hearings and inquiries and are confident that Mrs. Arroyo would not prohibit them from appearing.
They said the House "sees no valid reason why the President should not consent to the appearance in the House of her department heads and officers... We maintain that the House shall respect the Executive department’s prerogatives and expect it to equally respect the prerogatives of the House."
On the other hand, local officials called for a moratorium on congressional investigations and said invoking executive privilege barring government officials from testifying in legislative inquiries is also being done at the local level.
"At the local level, our department heads must first secure prior consent from us (governors and mayors) before they are allowed to appear in legislative investigations by the provincial boards, city councils or the municipal councils," said Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado, president of the League of Provinces and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines.
Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone warned that these legislative investigations could be used to pave the way for another attempted power grab by "this group who wants to install a military junta, abolish Congress, and change the local government units under a dictatorial form of government." — With Aurea Calica, Jess Diaz, AFP
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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