Palace to abide by SC ruling on Neri Ermita

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang has reiterated that it would abide by whatever ruling the Supreme Court (SC) makes on the executive privilege issue raised by Commission on Higher Education Chairman Romulo Neri.

The SC has yet to come out with its ruling on whether a government official can be compelled to testify before the Senate on matters “in aid of legislation.”

Neri earlier refused to testify for the second time before the Senate on the national broadband network-ZTE deal, saying that he had said everything that had to be said on the case.

But some senators wanted him to provide information on his conversations with President Arroyo on the deal.

“If it means that Neri would have to attend the Senate hearings on the controversial NBN-ZTE deal, Malacañang would not prevent him from doing so,” Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said.

“I suppose Secretary Neri would have to abide by the ruling of the Supreme Court, and for as long as the usual invocation of whatever it is that is needed to be invoked during the hearing in the Senate should he attend would have to be resorted to by Secretary Neri,” Ermita said.

In his previous testimony, Neri told the Senate that he had informed the President about the alleged bribe offered to him by former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos when he was the director general of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

The bribe was supposed to be for Neri’s favorable endorsement of the deal as NEDA head.

He said he was told by the President not to accept the bribe. But several senators insisted that Neri disclose what else the Chief Executive told him.

He said the conversation between him and the President was covered by executive privilege and could not be revealed to the public.

With the SC still deliberating on the issue, Neri opted to wait for the ruling on executive privilege before making any decision to reappear before the Senate.

“It’s a matter between Secretary Neri and the Supreme Court. I recall Secretary Neri said that he would have to await the final ruling,” Ermita said.

Meanwhile, critics of the President have questioned the appointment of Labor Secretary Arturo Brion to the SC as associate justice when the issue of executive privilege is being deliberated on.

They doubted the timing of the appointment, considering that Brion could possibly have an impact on the vote for the executive privilege decision.

Ermita, however, stressed that the timing of Brion’s appointment in relation to the issue of executive privilege was not intentional.

“It so happened that there is this issue before the Supreme Court which came out at a time when the President would wish to fill up the vacancy,” he said.

“I don’t think we should give any malice to this appointment because, first of all, the appointee is qualified and there are many important issues that need to be addressed with a full membership of the highest court of the land,” he said. – Marvin Sy