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Saturday, October 01, 2005
Editorials: Battle of wills
It is not surprising that the most vocal critics of Executive Order 464, which requires government and military officials to ask the President's permission before appearing in congressional inquiries, are from the political opposition.
After all, the EO can be considered the second big counter-offensive of the Arroyo administration, the first being its decision to shift from the maximum tolerance policy against rallies to what it calls "calibrated preemptive response" (CPR).
Apparently, the Arroyo camp has already gotten the needed confidence to hit back after it successfully parried the backlash from the dismissal of the impeachment complaints against the President by the House of Representatives.
Unfortunately for the anti-Arroyo legislators, they partly provided Malacañang with a cover for issuing the EO when the grilling by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales turned nasty.
Gonzales may have gotten what he deserved for refusing to open up on the questionable contract he entered into with Venable LLP, but his being cited for contempt and hospitalization fitted snugly into Malacañang's game plan.
This has a parallel with the opposition's insistence on holding major rallies in the country's financial district of Makati, thus disrupting business activities there---a point used by the Arroyo as cover for instituting the widely criticized CPR.
What this shows is that Malacañang is hitting back on two fronts, the CPR against the parliament on the streets, and the EO against the real "parliament": Congress.
Meaning, the conflict has been reduced to a battle of wills between the Arroyo administration and its critics, which, in Congress, takes the form of top government and military officials refusing to testify in congressional inquiries.
The last thing people want, though, is for the battle of wills between the executive and legislative branches of government to
deteriorate into a constitutional crisis.
Legal opinions
Executive Order 464 has not only been tackled in the political and moral front but in the legal aspect as well.
But since this country has lawyers in its every nook and cranny, there are also as many legal views being presented on the EO.
In this sense, senators finally bringing the matter to the Supreme Court is the best way to lower the decibel of the exchange.
(October 1, 2005 issue)
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