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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Pro-Arroyo senators seek stop to 'Garci' probe
MANILA -- Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Tuesday said she and other pro-administration senators will seek a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court (SC) if the Senate proceeds with its inquiry on the "Hello Garci" wiretapping scandal.
This, however, would be their last option, Santiago said in a privilege speech Tuesday, appealing to her colleagues from the opposition to exclude the "Hello Garci" tape and instead focus on the alleged illegal wiretapping operations of the military against public officials.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
"It is a crime to wiretap and it is a crime to use a wiretap, by talking about its contents," she said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier revealed that former Technical Sergeant Vidal Doble of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) admitted he and several agents had wiretapped President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This prompted a call for the reopening of the Senate's investigation into the "Hello Garci" wiretapping scandal that featured a taped conversation between Arroyo and several officials, including former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, allegedly discussing the manipulation of the 2004 presidential election results.
The Senate investigated the issue but dismissed it for lack of merit.
Unlike her allies who only cited the Anti-Wiretapping Law, Santiago cited the Constitution itself, particularly the Bill of Rights provision on privacy of communication.
Article 2, Paragraph 2 of the 1987 Constitution provides that an illegal wiretap is "inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding."
"This absolute constitutional language creates an invincible legal fortress against spies and eavesdroppers," she said.
Santiago said if the Senate committee admits the "Hello Garci" tape as evidence, "the Senate would be an unwitting accessory to a crime."
She criticized some Congress members for arguing that public interest should override the constitutional prohibition, saying they "exhibit doctrinal confusion and jurisprudential colonial mentality in constitutional law."
Santiago said the 2001 US case of Bartnicki versus Vopper, which upheld the "public interest" argument, does not apply to the Philippines because the US Constitution does not contain a provision similar to that in the Philippine Constitution making a wiretap "inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding."
Instead, Santiago cited Philippine cases, notably the 1998 case of People versus Olivares and the 1994 case of Salcedo-Ortanez versus Court of Appeals. She said in Olivares, the SC ruled that "the constitutional provision on the inadmissibility of evidence, known as the exclusionary rule, extends to any other form of proceedings."
Santiago further said in Salcedo-Ortanez case, the court ruled that "the inadmissibility of the subject tapes is mandatory under Republic Act (RA) 4200."
Commenting on the use of the "Hello Garci" tape in the impeachment proceedings against President Arroyo in the House of Representatives, Santiago said the use of the tape was unlawful, and that "it is the duty of the Senate to educate the House on pressing points of constitutional law."
She also said parliamentary immunity must yield to privacy of communication "because the former is a general provision while the latter is a particular provision."
"The right to privacy of communication, being particular, prevails over parliamentary immunity, which is general," she said, citing rules of statutory construction.
Santiago said contrary to common perception, a wiretap does not need the facilities of a service provider but merely needs a scanner that can be easily bought.
She added that in 1977, US congressional hearings uncovered illegal wiretaps on Congress members, which were done by the use of scanners.
But Senate President Manuel Villar maintained they will reopen the investigation on the "Hello Garci" issue after the Senate committee on rules voted 6-2 in favor of its reopening.
But the Senate as a whole still has to vote on the issue. The senators decided to continue their discussion on whether to proceed with the investigation on Wednesday.
Senators Lacson, Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Francis Escudero, Francis Pangilinan, Alan Peter Cayetano and Manuel Roxas III voted to have the issue investigated by the Committee of the Whole. Senators Joker Arroyo and Juan Ponce-Enrile opposed it.
Santiago and Senator Richard Gordon said the "Hello Garci" hearings should focus on who ordered the wiretapping, not the contents of the illegal wiretap. (CPB/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (August 29, 2007 issue)
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