Forget Truth body, let other agencies curb corruption, Aquino urged

Instead of going with a "toothless" Truth Commission, Senator Edgardo Angara on Thursday said President Benigno Aquino III should instead make use of existing institutions to prosecute graft and corruption cases. "It's a poor Ombudsman model. (The Ombudsman) has teeth, it has prosecutory power, it has investigative power. The Truth Commission may have investigative and inquiry powers but (it has) no teeth, no claws," Angara said at the weekly Senate forum. Angara, who authored the Ombudsman Law, said that it would not be good for the country to show distrust in existing government institutions like the Sandiganbayan, Office of the Ombudsman, and other similar agencies. "What kind of attitude is that if I don't trust an existing institution, I'll create an alternative one which is immature, untested. We must begin trusting our own institutions otherwise that's an argument for rebellion, for revolt," he said. "It may not have been working under previous administrations but maybe under Noynoy it may start working more effectively. People change, institutions change, let us not give up on them," he added. Angara likewise said that the truth body, which is tasked to probe the alleged anomalies during the Arroyo administration, has an "identity crisis" because it was modeled after a body that was meant to prosecute human rights violations. He also said that its final report would still be subjected to amendments or modifications by the President. "That adds to the ambiguity of the Truth Commission," he said. SC decision At the same time, Angara pointed out that Executive Order No. 1, which created the Truth Commission, will probably have a hard time passing the Supreme Court (SC). House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman and other lawmakers have asked the SC to nullify EO No.1 as unconstitutional, saying the truth body is illegal because only Congress has the power to create a public office and allot funds for its operations. They added the truth body's inquiry would be an "exercise in futility" because it duplicates existing powers given to the DOJ and the Ombudsman. The SC has yet to decide on the matter. "Normally a test of legality, test of constitutionality is decided almost with deliberate speed. In this case, they seem to be taking their time. The longer it takes, the more intense the debate internally is and the harder it is for them to resolve it," said Angara. He also advised the truth body to not be so "ethusiastic" doing their job just yet. "The fundamental question of legality of their constitution is pending and I think the cost of justice will not be unduly impaired if they waited for the SC to decide," he said. Brainchild of amateurs? Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago had also said that she was “extremely disappointed to the point of ill-health" at the “very shallow legal preparation" of the people in the Aquino administration who conceptualized the Truth Commission. “Efforts to explain its constitutionality are very sophomoric. In other words, it’s a bunch of amateurs trying to justify what they are doing," the feisty lawmaker said. Santiago, a former regional trial court judge, said at least two Supreme Court rulings had stated that the creation of agencies is solely the function of the legislature, and that the Truth Commission is a "gross" violation of the separation of the three branches of government. Senator Franklin Drilon, however, had said that Malacañang did not violate the 1987 Constitution when it created the commission. "The source of authority for the creation of the Truth Commission is the same as that used by (former President) Arroyo in creating the Feliciano Commission, Melo Commission and Presidential Anti-Graft Commission," said Drilon, a former Justice secretary. The Feliciano Commission was formed in 2003 to look into the circumstances that led into the infamous Oakwood Mutiny while the Melo Commission was created in 2006 to investigate the spate of media killings during the Arroyo administration. On the other hand, Senate Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. just questioned the appointment of former Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide to resign as head of the Truth Commission. Marcos said that the Truth Commission should be headed by somebody who does not have "political baggage" like Davide. Estrada said that Davide "betrayed" his oath when he administered the oath of then Vice President Arroyo in 2001 as the replacement of then President Joseph “Erap" Estrada in the midst of the EDSA 2 People Power uprising. He likewise accused the former SC justice of abusing the Judiciary Development Fund, a multi-billion peso fund derived from the collection of legal fees paid to the courts. — RSJ, GMANews.TV