Aquino: Truth Commission to start corruption probe next week

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said the newly-completed Truth Commission will finally get down to business next week and start probing the corruption scandals during the administration of former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. "If I'm not mistaken, Monday is the oath-taking of everybody. So right after that [they will start working]," Aquino said at an ambush interview with reporters on Friday at a Navy counter-terror demonstration in Cavite. Aquino, however, did not specify what would be the first corruption issue the Truth Commission would tackle. Malacañang earlier said the commission, which will be independent, will craft its own rules and determine the subjects of its investigation. Several corruption scandals have hounded the previous administration, among which is the $329-million ZTE deal, also known as the "National Broadband Network (NBN) controversy." Allegations of corruption hounded the Arroyo administration in the awarding of the $329-million contract to Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE for the proposed government-managed NBN. On Thursday, Malacañang announced that Ateneo law professor Menardo Guevarra will be the final member of the commission. The Commission is headed by retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and will have as members former Supreme Court Associate Justices Romeo Callejo Jr., Flerida Ruth Romero, and Carlos Medina Jr., executive director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center. However, Arroyo-allied lawmakers, led by House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman, have questioned the legality of Aquino's Executive Order No. 1 creating the commission. In August, the allies of Arroyo asked the Supreme Court (SC) nullify Aquino's EO No. 1, saying it duplicates the quasi-judicial powers of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice. In a 55-page petition, Lagman and Representatives Rodolfo Albano Jr., Simeon Datumanong and Orlando Fua Jr. called the Truth Commission an "exercise in futility." The lawmakers also asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order on the enforcement of EO No. 1. "This petition is seasonably interposed to challenge the constitutionality or validity of Executive Order No. 1 and the resolution of the issues raised herein is of critical immediacy since they involve the fundamental doctrine of separation of powers and abiding principle of rule of law as enshrined in the [1987 Constitution]," Arroyo's allies said in their petition. Malacañang, however, maintained that the Truth Commission stands on solid legal ground. The SC is set to resume oral arguments on the petition on Tuesday next week, with the government expected to defend its side. – VVP, RSJ, GMANews.TV