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Saturday, October 01, 2005
Aquino, lawyers' group hit Arroyo's gag order
MANILA -- Former President Corazon Aquino criticized Friday an order by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo prohibiting government officials, including those in the military and police, from testifying in any congressional inquiry without her permission.
The controversial Executive Order (EO) 464 of Arroyo is "unconstitutional and illegal", said the Counsel for the Defense of Liberties (Codal).
In a "mass for truth" assembly held at the Miriam College in Quezon City, Aquino said she wondered why the people who were giving information that "would lead to the truth behind the alleged cheating in last year's elections were prevented by the present government."
She said the order blocks all avenues for the truth, which many Filipino people are seeking. She clarified that she is not against the President but she only wants the truth to come out.
She said she would continue to join anti-Arroyo protests until the President voluntarily steps down from her post. The former president said a signature campaign for the resignation of Arroyo is now going on.
Aquino's statement was echoed by militant groups, which said the President's order would serve as an "executive cloak" to stifle all possible venues for establishing the truth concerning the legitimacy of her presidency.
Bayan Muna party-list Representative Joel Virador said Arroyo was treading on forbidden territory, noting that the power to legislate was exclusively designated by the 1987 Constitution to Congress.
Virador added that Arroyo's order shields unscrupulous public officials who are allergic to public scrutiny and prevents those who are privy to the misconduct of the President to testify freely.
Codal spokesperson Neri Javier Colmenares, for his part, said the latest move of President Arroyo to curtail the Constitutional right of the people to information may be a preparatory move for the full implementation of an "authoritarian regime".
Javier said the "calibrated preemptive response" policy being imposed by the police on street protests is "an attempt to suppress freedom of expression and assembly on the basis of an administrative requirement -- the issuance of a permit."
With the implementation of the national ID system and the push for the legislation of anti-terror bills, he said the Philippine political crisis has escalated to Martial Law proportions where the government is isolated from the people.
"The state of 'undeclared' Martial Law is more deadly than (former President Ferdinand) Marcos's martial rule because the Constitutional mechanisms meant to protect the people from the President's abuse of her Martial Law powers cannot be activated absent a formal declaration," he said.
The lawyer said they would file an urgent petition for certiorari and prohibition before the Supreme Court (SC) to challenge the order.
Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, however, said President Arroyo did not abuse her authority when she issued the order.
"I am under the discipline of the Chief Executive, an alter ego of the President and if the President thinks I should ask permission, I will," she said.
Sto. Tomas said the order "is a welcome relief to the government officials because it would give them enough time to be prepared once they are called for a public hearing."
She said the President has been just trying to shield them from circumstances similar to what happened to National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales who suffered a hypertensive attack following intense questioning by senators on the lobbying contract with the US-based Venable LLP. (JFF/MSN/Sunnex)
(October 1, 2005 issue)
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