Palace appeals for suspension of ‘politically charged’ probes

Malacañang has asked lawmakers to suspend "politically charged" hearings when Congress resumes session on May 15 and focus instead on passing vital pieces of legislation.

Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio said yesterday the Palace may convene the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) any time next week after the resumption of session to be able to discuss vital measures that need to be passed into law with congressional leaders.

Sen. Edgardo Angara and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. suggested that a dialogue be held and the LEDAC convened to resolve the conflict between the executive and the legislative branches of government that resulted in delay in the passage of proposed measures.

"We would like to appeal to the leaders of Congress to make the most out of their 12 remaining days of session (before adjournment) and adopt the measures that have passed by the House on third reading," Claudio said.

"Maybe they can suspend the conduct of politically charged investigations first, especially those that have already been tackled during the impeachment process (last year)," he added.

Some of the important bills being pushed by the Palace are the 2006 budget, the anti-terrorism bill, a measure promoting the use of alternative fuels, the bill mandating an income tax reduction for minimum wage earners and anti-smuggling and the fiscal measure rationalization bills.

Claudio said he hopes Senate President Franklin Drilon and other congressional leaders will attend the LEDAC for the sake of the country.

"This is subject to the synchronization of our schedules, but we would like to convene the LEDAC next week after they resume sessions," he said.

"We will be very happy if the lawmakers will devote their time and effort to pass even just a few of the priority measures," Claudio said.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita earlier said President Arroyo has taken initial steps to reach out to the senators after the controversy generated by her issuance of Executive Order No. 464, which barred government, military and police officials from attending congressional inquiries without her consent.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye also said the President was open to dialogue with the congressional leaders to expedite the passage of important bills.

The LEDAC — which consists of the President, key administration officials and lawmakers — was formed in the mid-1990s to enable Malacañang and Congress to map out a legislative agenda, especially for measures the administration considers priority legislation.

The President accused the Senate and the opposition in the House of conducting incessant investigations in aid of "destabilization" before she issued EO 464.

Her actions enraged senators, who said the President was using her powers to stop them from uncovering the various anomalies of her administration and her alleged cheating in the 2004 elections.

The rift between the executive and legislative branches of government is seen as a major obstacle in passing important bills into law.

Angara urged Drilon to respond positively to a dialogue in spite of their political differences.

De Venecia, on the other hand, said former President Fidel Ramos used the LEDAC extensively to push for over 200 bills needed for his economic recovery program, thus enabling the Philippines to be independent of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles is seeking certain restrictions on the conduct and coverage of congressional investigations, particularly those the Senate intends to conduct.

He is proposing what he described as "parameters" under which he said inquiries should be conducted in the wake of the Supreme Court decision effectively striking down controversial EO 464 as unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruled that Mrs. Arroyo cannot prohibit executive officials and employees from attending congressional inquiries, except those on matters involving national security and state secrets. The President has to invoke "executive privilege" in these cases, according to the decision.

Following the tribunal’s decision, senators announced that they would summon Cabinet members and other officials who had snubbed their invitations by invoking EO 464. — Aurea Calica, Jess Diaz