Black & White Movement Denounces Executive Order 464 as Another Tool to Suppress the Truth

From the Black and White Movement:

THE motto of the Philippine Military Academy is “Courage, Integrity, and Loyalty.” The Black & White Movement salutes Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani and Lt. Col. Alex Balutan, both of the Philippine Marines, for demonstrating courage, displaying integrity, and proving their ultimate loyalty to the nation by their decision to testify before the Senate. For their efforts, they have been rewarded by dismissal from their positions in the Philippine Military Academy, and the initiation of court martial proceedings.

The President of the Philippines is the commander-in-chief of professional, constitutionally-bound armed forces, and not a warlord with absolute powers over a private army. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has issued an unprecedented Executive Order requiring both civilian and military officials to secure presidential permission before appearing before either chamber of Congress.

The Constitution of our country, which every Filipino is duty bound to uphold, and which the President has specifically sworn to obey and uphold in the same manner as our officer corps is required to respect and obey the Constitution and the principle of civilian supremacy, imposes limits on the powers of Congress to compel the attendance of members of the President’s official family before its committees. The limits apply only to the heads of civilian departments who have been confirmed by Congress, who are required to receive presidential authorization to appear before Congress. The Constitution neither prohibits other officials, including members of our armed forces, from appearing before Congress, nor does it grant the President power to prevent the appearance of public servants before Congress.

The President has lumped together civilian and military officials, subjecting them to Executive Order 464 which aims to thwart the right of the people to information of public concern. She has combined both the Executive Department and the Armed Forces into one institution completely under her control, respecting neither the distinction that Executive Orders in general should apply only to the Executive Department, or the system of General Orders used in the armed forces.

The Black & White Movement encourages all public servants, whether civilian or military, to be aware not only of their individual and collective rights, but their corresponding obligations to the Filipino nation, its duly constituted representatives, and the principle that the sovereign people deserve no less that the wholehearted cooperation of all public servants when their assistance is required to enlighten the public in cases involving the public interest. The chain of command is meant to uphold military discipline, and the subordination of the military to civilian rule. It is not meant to, and should not result in, the transformation of the armed forces and the civilian bureaucracy into the feudal fiefdom of one, single official intent on frustrating the investigative efforts of a co-equal branch of government.