In a bid to prevent Marine Gen. Franciso Gudani and others from testifying before the Senate on the wiretapping issue related to the massive poll fraud committed last year, President Arroyo has barred all government officials in the executive department, including officers and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP), from participating in legislative hearings that tackle critical issues against her administration.
This was announced by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita yesterday who also stressed that certain conditions have to be met before the President authorizes the appearance of government officials before congressional arms, such as the legislative bodies providing Malacañang with a list of subjects of the inquiry and their submission in advance of the questions that will be asked by the senators.
But the senators branded this move of the President to clip their powers on congressional inquiries as unconstitutional and irregular, as such move also encroaches on the powers of the Senate to appear before the body under pain of contempt and arrest.
The face-off between the executive and the Senate is expected to come soon, as senators, without objection, subpoenaed other military officers who were earlier named in the “Hello Garci” conversations, to appear before the defense panel.
Ermita, in justifying the presidential ban, presented media with the copy of the just issued Executive Order (EO) 464 which he claimed was the legal basis for this presidential restriction.
Ermita said the EO was issued by Mrs. Arroyo with the aim of observing “the separation of powers and adherence to the rule on executive privilege and respect for the rights of public officials appearing in legislative investigations in aid of legislation and for other purposes,” even as he claimed that such government officials can appear before Congress but only after securing authority and permission from Mrs. Arroyo.
Malacañang rushed the issuance of the said EO after it confirmed the attendance of Assistant Philippine Military Academy Superintendent Gudani in yesterday's Senate hearing.
You can't plug all the leaks in your sinking ship, Mrs. Arroyo.
More here, here, and here from PCIJ.
UPDATE: Senators say gag order violates Constitution.
MALACAÑANG and the Senate appear headed toward a confrontation over the issuance by President Arroyo of Executive Order No. 464 which bars senior members of the executive branch of government from testifying in a congressional inquiry without her permission.
Senate President Franklin Drilon told reporters yesterday that the order is illegal and unconstitutional. He said he has asked the Senate’s legal counsel to study the order, known by its longish title "Ensuring Observance of the Principle of Separation of Powers, Adherence to the Rule on Executive Privilege and Respect for the Rights of Public Officials Appearing in Legislative Inquiries in Aid of Legislation Under the Constitution, and for Other Purposes."
The order, signed by President Arroyo yesterday, says that all heads and senior officials of departments, generals and flag officers of the Armed Forces and police officials with the ranks of chief superintendent and up, and national security officials must have the consent of the President before appearing in either the Senate or the House of Representatives.
"The scope of the executive privilege is defined under Article VI, Section 22 of the Constitution – it is only the appearance of the department secretaries which would require concurrence of the President. Any expansion of this provision is questionable under our Constitution," Drilon said.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who has taken the President’s side on many issues, said the issuance of EO 464 is highly irregular.
"The standard procedure is for the Constitution to be carried out by a law passed by Congress. Thereafter, the President issues the executive order to execute the law passed by Congress. Here, Congress has not yet passed the law," she said.
"The doctrine of executive privilege was not the ratio decidendi of the cases cited by the Supreme Court. Ratio decidendi means the reason for deciding the case. What the executive order cites are mere dicta, which means they are influential but not binding," Santiago said.
Santiago also said it is wrong for the executive order to say that the Constitution guarantees separation of power of the three branches of government. "The Constitution does not guarantee the separation of power, the constitution merely implies the separation of power," she said.
She said the President should not issue an outright prohibition against the attendance or testimony of her secretaries, who are her alter ego, in congressional hearings. She said the President should instead ask Congress to hold closed-door hearings if the matter to be discussed involves national security issues.
"Kung outright, parang may itinatago ang President," she said.
Read this too from Malaya's Editorial:
IT’S a well-settled doctrine that only heads of departments need the consent of the President before they could appear before either chambers of Congress. In fact, this is enshrined in Section 22 of Article V (Legislative Department). So Executive Order 464, which is the basis for Gloria Arroyo’s directive to AFP officials not to attend yesterday’s Senate hearing on "Hello Garci" wire-tapped conversations, is patently unconstitutional.
In issuing EO 464, Gloria says she only wants to maintain the separation of powers between the co-equal branches of government. Strange, but the EO has the contrary effect. The Executive department is now virtually saying that people under it are beyond the reach of congressional inquiries. In terms of checks and balance, this amounts to loading the scales in the Executive’s favor. If this is not a perversion of the principle of the separation of power, we don’t know what is.
But let’s not belabor the obvious: that Arroyo respects nothing – not decency, morality, the law and, yes, even the Constitution – in her obsession to stay in power.
The issue now before the nation is not what the law or the Constitution say. We are now facing naked exercise of power by an illegimate president. It’s sad seeing the Republic descend into lawlessness, but that’s the logical consequence of the chief executive stealing the election and ruthlessly using the powers fraudulently gained to cover up the original sin.
It should be remembered that yesterday’s hearing was about the "Hello Garci" conversations where Gloria was caught on tape conniving with election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in rigging the results of the 2004 presidential election. Since the scandal broke out on June 6, Gloria has sought to hide evidence and witnesses, has bought members of Congress to dump the impeachment complaints against her and has threatened to jail everybody who continues to say she’s a liar, a cheat and a thief.
Gagging military officials is but a continuation of this policy of hiding the truth.
The Comelec, the House, the LGUs, the courts and the bureaucracy have been prostituted. What makes the AFP officer corps believe they would not be used and abused in pursuit of the continuing cover up?
Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani and :Lt. Col. Alexander Balutan have been sacked and are facing court martial proceedings for corroborating accounts of widespread vote-buying and falsifying of election returns.
Not one hallowed institution is left standing. Gloria, with the institution of the presidency in total disrepute, is just a nudge away from falling off the precipice of her own making.
We are, we fear, nearing the end game.
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