Aquino defends controversial EOs

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III on Monday stood by his controversial executive orders whose constitutionality are being questioned before the Supreme Court. In an ambush interview in Malacañang, Aquino said his first three executive orders were necessary to correct "errors" in the previous administration of former President-now-Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whom Aquino is critial of. "The fundamental principle is this, we are trying to correct our society, we’re trying to correct errors, mistakes, and deliberate actions that injured the public good and possibly there were people who benefited from that status to try and preserve that status quo," he said. "The challenges are expected." Aquino's EO No. 1 created the Truth Commission, to be led by retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., which will investigate unresolved corruption controversies in the Arroyo administration. Allies of Mrs. Arroyo led by House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman have questioned its constitutionality before the Supreme Court. Justice assistant secretary Jose Arturo de Castro JD and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) director Eddie Tamondong have asked the Supreme Court to nullify EO No. 2, which revoked Mrs. Arroyo's so-called midnight appointments. De Castro is also seeking to nullify EO No. 3, which revoked Arroyo's EO No. 883 that granted lawyers "occupying legal positions in the government executive service who have obtained graduate degrees in law and successfully passed their bar examinations" with the rank of Career Executive Service Officer III. Malacañang earlier said it is ready to defend its controversial executive orders, which Senator Joker Arroyo has described as "rush jobs," before the court. Not directed to Noynoy But Joker clarified on Monday that he was directing his criticism to Aquino's legal team and not to Aquino himself. "Dahan-dahan lang yung mga abogado sa Malacanang (The lawyers at Malacanang should take it easy), they should study more," Joker told Senate reporters in a separate interview. He added that the government should not encourage the filing of suits against its orders. "(They have a habit of saying) if you don't agree with us, go to court. That's not what government is all about," added Joker, a former executive secretary of the late President Corazon Aquino, Noynoy's mother. Aquino had earlier dared EO No. 1's critics to challenge the order's constitutionality before the Supreme Court. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, for his part, said credit must still be given to Aquino for issuing the controversial EOs despite the criticisms his administration has been receiving. "You have to give it to him. He’s willing to make decisions and assume the risks. That’s a mark of a leader," he told reporters in an interview on Monday. Enrile likewise said that it is impossible to please everybody and that at least Aquino is doing something. "He’s not God, you know. He’s just a human being and you can differ with the decisions of a human being," said Enrile. — Jam Sisante and Kimberly Tan/RSJ, GMANews.TV