Senators to stage march for truth on the way to SC

MANILA, Philippines – Senators Benigno Aquino III, Alan Peter Cayetano and Panfilo Lacson will join Senate star witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr. in the “march for truth” from Adamson University to the Supreme Court in Manila today.

At the SC, the senators will file the motion for reconsideration on the Court’s decision upholding the claim of executive privilege of Commission on Higher Education Chairman Romulo Neri.

Aquino is joining the activity in respect to the commitment of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, to “fight for the truth” in the national broadband network (NBN) deal, according to Aquino’s media officer Mar Rodriguez.

Aquino joined Liberal partymate Sen. Manuel Roxas II in filing another petition before the SC last year over the need to get the Court to rule on the documents related to the NBN inquiry from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Before this, Aquino has also been joining the former president in the “Masses for Truth” but chose to remain in the sidelines.

Despite some of the senators’ optimism, Roxas, Senate committee on trade and commerce chairman, is not convinced that the SC would reverse its decision.

Roxas said the Senate lost its chance to question Neri when it rejected the “compromise” deal offered by Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

He said that if they had accepted the compromise at least the senators could have asked Neri other questions.

The Senate tri-committees involved in the NBN-ZTE inquiry should come up with its initial report on Lozada’s supposed kidnapping at the airport shortly after his arrival from Hong Kong last February, Roxas said.

The Senate remains optimistic that the justices will reconsider their decision on the issue of executive privilege.

Last Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, who is not joining the opposition march, said the Senate is ready for battle at the Tribunal over the issue of executive privilege.

“In my own simple opinion, all of us swore to defend the Constitution,” he said over radio station dzBB last Sunday.

“It is our mandate to protect the Constitution… the legal argument is precisely that majority of the provisions in the SC decision seem to be not in line with the Constitution, so it is our job to fight and uphold the Constitution.”

Pangilinan said the motion for reconsideration will allow the SC justices to look anew into their decision, which Senate lawyers believe infringed on the Senate’s power to investigate in aid of legislation.

“It is not the Senate vs. the Supreme Court,” he said.

“If you ask me, it is we in the Senate defending the Constitution and hopefully, even two of the justices will see it that way and reconsider (their position).”

Pangilinan said the strong public reaction on the SC ruling might make the justices change their mind.

“I am not saying that the justices are loyal to GMA,” he said.

“What I’m saying is the question raised by former Chief Justice (Artemio) Panganiban that it is an Arroyo court. I am saying that the perception is, the question being raised is: Are they GMA loyalists rather than being loyalists to the Constitution.

“That is why we are fighting this, we want to fight this on all the merits and we would like to see a favorable ruling. We feel we will not impute bad faith on the SC justices, we want to presume regularity and there is a legal and procedural remedy to this, to file a MR.

“We believe, with all due respect to the SC, they made a mistake, and this motion for reconsideration is an opportunity for them to correct that mistake.”

Carlos Medina, one of the Senate counsels, said he and the other lawyers will jointly submit the motion for reconsideration before the SC today.

Medina said the Senate is banking on the good judgment of the justices in reversing their earlier decision.

A majority of the senators agree that there is no need to re-publish the rules of procedure because the Senate is a continuing body, he added.

The Senate legal team includes Senate legal counsel David Jonathan Yap and private counsels Dean Pacifico Agabin, Jose Anselmo Cadiz, and Melencio Sta. Maria.

Senate President Manuel Villar will be unable to join the other senators in filing the motion for reconsideration because he is in South Africa attending the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

He is expected to be back in two weeks for the resumption of the regular session of Congress on April 21.

Palace welcomes Senate motion

Malacañang welcomed yesterday the Senate’s action to file a motion for reconsideration before the SC today.

Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde said it is well within the rights of the Senate and in accordance with the rule of law to file the motion for reconsideration.

However, senators must stop making statements about the case after they have filed the motion for reconsideration, he added.

Remonde said it was inappropriate for the senators to make comments that they are confident of winning the case.

After the motion for reconsideration is filed, all parties would be covered by the legal principle of sub judice, he added.

Remonde said Malacañang would respect and accept any ruling of the SC on the motion for reconsideration.

“We adhere to the rule of law and whatever final decision the Supreme Court might issue, we just hope it will be accepted as the final decision of the highest court of the land,” he said. – With Marvin Sy