Gonzales hopeful his release would ease Palace-Senate tension

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales hopes that his impending release from detention will ease relations between Malacañang and the Senate.

"It’s good if (the tension) is finally removed," he said.

Gonzales had been detained at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City since Sept. 21 after the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee cited him for contempt for refusing to answer lawmakers’ questions on the government’s rescinded contract with American lobby firm Venable LLP.

Gonzales, who suffers from a heart condition, has been granted a conditional release after committee chairman Sen. Joker Arroyo ruled that the Senate cannot "disregard" humanitarian consideration.

Doctors say Gonzales needs heart bypass surgery soon because of a blocked major artery.

Malacañang had demanded his release, saying Gonzales enjoyed executive privilege and was therefore excused from answering the senators’ questions.

But the Senate initially refused, saying the Palace was trying to undermine the chamber’s oversight function.

The Arroyo administration’s quarrel with the Senate escalated with Palace accusations that Senate President Franklin Drilon was helping efforts to oust President Arroyo though a series of congressional investigations purportedly to uncover corruption.

Senators have said Gonzales still has to answer questions about the Venable contract even if he’s released from their custody.

The impasse deepened when President Arroyo issued Executive Order 464 that barred government officials and military and police officers from appearing in congressional inquiries without prior Palace clearance.

Gonzales was ordered detained by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee for refusing to identify the private donors who reportedly paid for the Venable contract.

He told the panel that he got presidential approval to sign the contract on behalf of the government but failed to clearly answer whether he received specific authority from President Arroyo.

Senators wanted to find out who authorized Gonzales to sign the contract, which senators said was inimical to the Philippines’ national interest because it seemed to allow a foreign government to meddle in its affairs.

The Venable contract called for the American lobby firm to help Manila secure US official and private funding for a number of projects, including President Arroyo’s initiative to amend the Constitution.

Saving face

The Partido Demokratiko-Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP), which Gonzales heads as president, remained skeptical of the release.

In a statement issued to the media, the PDSP said Gonzales’ release is a "face-saving act to preempt whatever decision the Supreme Court may hand down" on two petitions seeking Gonzales’ release.

"The release of Gonzales from Senate custody tried to cover up the Senate’s failure to submit certified excerpts of the journals of the Senate where the Senate approval of the Blue Ribbon Committee rules appears, or that said rules had been published at any time."

In a hearing on the two petitions, the Supreme Court on Oct. 18 ordered the Senate to submit proof, such as the Blue Ribbon committee rules, that it was well within its right to order Gonzales’ detention.

"Diligent legal research showed that the present Senate failed to present documents that it has published such rules, nor presented proof that such rules have been approved by the Senate in plenary," PDSP spokesman Jose Ricafrente said in the party’s statement.

"The Supreme Court deemed the submission of said documents as ‘vital’ to the resolution of the very sensitive and far-reaching constitutional issues involved in the Gonzales petitions."

Gonzales had asked the tribunal to allow him to post bail. His sister, meanwhile, had filed a petition seeking his release, arguing that the Senate committee overstepped legal bounds.