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Friday, May 05, 2006
Palace won't say sorry for 'unlawful acts' during emergency rule
PRESS Secretary Ignacio Bunye said on Thursday that any apologies to parties supposedly offended during the implementation of Proclamation 1017 "is premature" as an appeal is to be filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
Bunye, who is also Presidential spokesman, said they are leaving it up to Solicitor General Antonio Eduardo Nachura to finalize the details and file the appeal.
The Supreme Court (SC) earlier upheld Proclamation 1017 but declared as unconstitutional the warrantless arrests and raids, including that of the offices of the Daily Tribune newspaper, carried out by the police, and the suppression of protest rallies.
"Merong mga issues na posibleng maging paksa ng MR (motion for reconsideration) kaya't iyan ay pinapaubaya natin sa Solgen. So ating pagkakaalam, meron nang pahayag ang Solgen tungkol dito (There are issued that may be raised in the MR so we will leave it to the Solgen. What we know is that there was already a statement from the Solgen about it) and it seems that MR will be forthcoming. So at this time it will be premature to talk about apologies," he said.
Bunye declined to comment on the possible withdrawal of the rebellion cases against the six party-list representatives who were charged for allegedly planning to topple the administration that led to the declaration of 1017.
He said it would be up to Nachura and Secretary of Justice Raul Gonzalez Sr. to handle it.
Nachura said if it were up to him he would have immediately filed the motion for reconsideration but he still needs to consult with the other government lawyers in case they see other points in the decision that should be raised or clarified.
He added that said the government is also prepared to face any charges that may arise from the SC decision that declared Proclamation 1017 as legal while nullifying some provisions or actions like the warrantless arrests and raid on the Daily Tribune that stemmed from the issuance.
Niñez Cacho-Oivares, publisher of the Daily Tribune, said she would look into the possible filing of charges against Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and other officials after the SC declared as illegal the police's raid and detailing of police officers at the daily's office a day after 1017 was issued.
Nachura added that the SC decision is not a complete victory for the opposition nor is it against the administration as it still recognized the action of the President as legal.
Bunye echoed Nachura's statement stressing that Proclamation 1017 was declared following a clear and present danger at that time brought about by the conspiracy between leftist and rightists groups.
He added that President acted in good faith and they would be able to defend themselves should any charges be filed against any administration officials.
The PNP, for its part, said it was just following orders issued by Malacañang when it carried out warrantless arrests and raids while the country was under a state of emergency last February.
Senior Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao, PNP spokesman, said their actions were guided by General Orders 5 (GOs) and 6, which tasked the police and the military establishments to suppress terrorism and lawlessness at that time.
"These were not done by the PNP to its liking. We were just following the proclamation," Pagdilao said. The two general orders were issued by Malacañang as a supplement to Presidential Proclamation 1017 that placed the country under a state of emergency last February 24 to March 3 following an aborted coup attempt.
Pagdilao said maintained that the PNP acted with prudence and scrupulously observed the rule of law and human rights while the proclamation was in effect.
"There was absolutely no abuse of authority by the PNP during those trying times in the life of our country," he said.
Pagdilao said it was PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao who authorized the PNP's Criminal
Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to raid the Tribune office on the wee hours of February 25, a day after the proclamation was issued.
"It's the call of the commander," said Pagdilao.
He also said the PNP leadership would be willing to take responsibility for its actuation, adding "what we're saying is that we were just following General Orders 5 and 6."
Meanwhile, opposition congressmen said the recent decision of the SC has just given them the needed motivation to file another impeachment case against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Party-list Representative Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna gave him and the rest of the opposition in the House more than enough reason to seek her impeachment in July.
Casiño said other members of the opposition are readying all evidence that would support the new impeachment case against the President. And for sure, he added, the three rulings made by the SC will be included in the complaint - all culpable violations of the Constitution - and the other controversies that continued to hound her presidency.
He reminded Malacañang's spin doctors, the Armed Forces and the PNP not to engage in doubletalk and to stop insisting that they did nothing wrong when they implemented Proclamation 1017.
Fellow opposition congressman Roilo Golez, on the other hand, believed that criminal and administrative liability should be imposed on those who advised the President to issue Executive Order (EO) 464 on barring government, police and military officials and personnel from appearing in Congressional inquiries without the consent of the President, the calibrated preemptive response (CPR) policy against anti-government rallies and Proclamation 1017.
At the same time, he said Cabinet officials like Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez and then Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes, who advised the President on the "illegal" acts must explain before the Commission on
Appointments (CA).
"For those facing confirmation process, like secretary of justice and Secretary Reyes (who by virtue of his post as interior secretary participated in crafting and/or implementation of CPR) should explain before the CA, failing which should not be confirmed," Golez said.
"The implementors of Proclamation 1017, from the secretary of justice to (PNP Chief Arturo) Lomibao, (National Capital Region chief Vidal) Querol and others, should be administratively and criminally charged for illegally implementing Proclamation 1017 and General Order No. 5, for illegal arrest and illegal detention," the congressman said.
"They should be dismissed from the service once found guilty," Golez added.
Ilocos Norte Representative Ma. Imelda "Imee" Marcos, for her part, said the hard blows from the SC that Arroyo received can be clearly described as a "judiciary coup".
Marcos said the decisions on Proclamation 1017, EO 464 and the CPR handed down by the high tribunal can now be regarded as a "judiciary coup" because it gave back the rights of the people and implicitly strengthens legal avenues and calls for Arroyo to step down from office.
She added that President Arroyo "has become too presumptuous thinking that she controls all the justices in the SC that is why she went on to issue illicit decrees despite having flaws and noticeable legal defects". (JMR/VR/DBP/Sunnex)
(May 5, 2006 issue)
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