President Aquino signs EO creating Truth Commission

(Updated 8:15 p.m.) President Benigno Aquino III has finally signed his first executive order which created the Truth Commission that will investigate alleged corruption issues in the nine-year Arroyo administration. "Today I signed Executive Order No. 1, establishing a commission to investigate allegations of anomalies during the last nine years. The process of bringing a necessary closure to the allegations of official wrongdoing and impunity has begun," Aquino said in a statement read by his spokesman Edwin Lacierda in a press briefing in Malacañang. The commission will "primarily seek and find the truth on, and toward this end, investigate reports of graft and corruption of such scale and magnitude that shock and offend the moral and ethical sensibilities of the people" committed during the previous administration, EO No. 1 said. The EO said its investigations will focus on cases that involve “public officers and employees, their co-principals, accomplices and accessories from the private sector, if any." The government officials that can be investigated are third-level public officers or higher. While the focus of the Truth Commission is on cases involving the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Aquino can extend the mandate of the newly-created body to include prior administrations through a supplemental executive order, according to Section 17 of the six-page EO. The Commission, which will be chaired by retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., will have coercive powers. It can request and obtain information and documents from any agency under the executive branch; Congress; the courts including the Sandiganbayan and the Office of the Court Administrator; and government-owned and controlled corporations. It can invite or subpoena witnesses and take their testimonies and administer oaths. Public officials who refuse to obey the subpoena, take oath, or give testimony without a lawful excuse, will be subjected to administrative disciplinary action, while any private person who does the same "may be dealt with in accordance with the law." Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa, who said the Commission's powers have solid basis in the Administrative Code, said the Palace is confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the legality and validity of the EO if it is questioned before the high court. Recommendatory only Despite its wide powers, however, the Commission has no prosecutorial function, and can only recommend actions to be taken. After its investigation, the Commission will submit its findings to the President, to Congress, and to the Office of the Ombudsman. De Mesa said the government does not want to speculate on how the Office of the Ombudsman will handle the Commission's findings amid allegations that Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez's is personally close to the Arroyo family "Regardless (of the Ombudsman's image), the Truth Commission will do its work and make the appropriate recommendations," he said in the same Palace briefing. The Commission has until Dec. 31, 2012 to accomplish its mandate. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, however, said the body can turn over to the proper agencies evidence or recommendations for cases that are "already ripe" for transmittal. "We need not wait for the completion of the work of the Commission" before the government takes action on specific cases, de Lima said in the same press conference. This is because the investigative body can, “from time to time for expeditious prosecution, turn over to the appropriate prosecutorial authorities… all evidence that it would have gathered in a particular case or cases," de Lima said. The evidence and initial findings could be sent by the Commission to prosecutors “by means of a special or interim report and recommendations," she added. De Lima admitted that the function of the Commission may overlap with the functions of some government agencies like the Justice department, but added that what makes it different is its special focus on bringing closure to corruption issues in the Arroyo administration. "At first glance it seems to be a duplication of the DOJ and even of the Ombudsman, but no," she explained, “because the reason why we have this particular mechanism is because the president really wants a more focused and a more expeditious disposition of these cases to really put a closure to these very important issues hounding our society." Other details to follow The Commission will have four other officials: general counsel, deputy general counsel, special counsel, and clerk of the Commission. De Lima said a list containing eight to 10 names has been submitted to Aquino who will then choose from the list. She refused to disclose the names on the list until Aquino has selected who will comprise the rest of the Truth Commission, saying only that three of these people have already signified their intention to join the fact-finding body. The Commission is empowered to call on the Justice department or any of the agencies under it and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission for assistance and cooperation. It can also engage the services of resource persons or personnel if necessary. The funding for the Commission will be sourced from the Office of the President. The Commission will determine its budgetary requirements as well as its rules and procedures and what cases it will tackle, De Mesa said. The Commission's hearings will be open to the public but it can, upon its own initiative or upon the request of persons testifying, hold executive or closed-door hearings on matters where "national security or public safety" is involved or "when the personal safety of the witness" warrants it.— Jam Sisante/RSJ/LBG/JV, GMANews.TV