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No need for Truth Commission, says Bongbong


Neophyte Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. sees no need for a Truth Commission to investigate the alleged crimes of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Marcos says if the intention of President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III is to seek justice, the judiciary or system of courts is already in place. "I don’t think it will need any special commission. The Judiciary is there, the investigative agencies are there, the police is there," the senator told reporters during a forum at the Senate on Thursday. Instead of using the government's time in conducting these investigations, Marcos says the supposedly "wronged" individuals should just come forward and "say their piece." If the purpose of the commission is to have an objective third party, then it should probe not just the Arroyo administration, Marcos says. "If we are going to investigate, investigate everyone... if that’s the intention of the Truth Commission," he said. Before his inauguration on June 30, Aquino announced that he will form a Truth Commission to investigate the alleged crimes of Arroyo and her allies. Marcos also said the Truth Commission should determine the scope of its investigations, citing the Presidential Commission on Good Government which was tasked to recover the ill-gotten wealth accumulated during his late father's regime. Referring to the Truth Commission, he said "it is not yet clear, it is not yet clear, it is still a very nebulous idea." "We don’t know exactly what the president has in mind, we can only wait and see," he adds. Meanwhile, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said Aquino should consistency and probe past administrations as well. Malacañang, for its part, had earlier left it to Davide to decide the scope of the investigation. "He has been given the authority to form the parameters of the Truth Commission — what the composition is, what will be the powers — and being a former Chief Justice, he would be in the best position to define the parameters," said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. A truth commission is tasked to discover past wrongdoing by a government. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established by President Nelson Mandela after apartheid, is generally considered a model of Truth Commissions. – VVP, GMANews.TV

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