Arroyo probe not a witch hunt, Palace says

Once established, the Truth Commission — proposed by President Benigno Aquino III a day before he was sworn into office — will not engage in any witch hunt nor harass Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for any particular crime. This assurance was given by presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda at a press briefing in Malacañang on Thursday. Discussions about the Truth Commission had started even before Aquino assumed office, Lacierda added. Among the suggestions raised include making it an independent body separate from the Executive branch or to subsume it under the Department of Justice. When the matter was broached to President Aquino, he was in favor of an independent commission, Lacierda said. "He wants to make sure it will not be a witch hunt, or appear as act of vengeance on his part and so, we need a person with integrity and impartiality," he added. This is the reason why former Chief Justice Hilario Davide was chosen to head the commission to ensure that there will be no witch hunt. "Evidence will be gathered and those responsible will be prosecuted in accordance with the evidence at hand," he said. A draft document specifying the commission’s mandate — intended to bring closure on several controversies hounding the Arroyo administration — is still being finalized. The body is expected to help collect evidence that would be used to prosecute individuals who committed wrongdoing. "It’s a matter of show[ing] political will that we will run after or bring a closure to scandals that took place during the previous administration," Lacierda said. “We’ll build a strong case against the responsible officials, not only President Arroyo." Lacierda also expressed confidence that the commission would be able to gather enough evidence since the new government now has access to documents that may have been “controlled" by the Arroyo administration. Cases handled by the commission will not be allowed to drag on and suffer the fate similar to the alleged ill-gotten wealth cases of the Marcos family. - RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV