Let Congress create truth body, senators say

Malacañang should have let Congress create the panel that would investigate unresolved controversies in the Arroyo administration instead of invoking the President's power to form such an investigative body. This was the opinion of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and opposition Senator Joker Arroyo following the Supreme Court’s decision to declare the executive order creating the Truth Commission unconstitutional. "Creating an investigative body with such vast power ought to be done by Congress so that you can canalize the power of the body and not become a fishing expedition so to speak," Enrile told reporters on Tuesday. He explained that Aquino cannot create an office like the Truth Commission and appropriate money for it. Around P83 million was allocated for the initial operations of the truth body in 2011. Enrile likewise said the commission, created through an executive order, cannot really prosecute because other government agencies like the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman already exist. Arroyo, for his part, said the Aquino administration should learn to use the existing government institutions in prosecuting those who they think have done wrong. "They should learn to trust someone," he said in a separate interview. On the other hand, Palace allies Senators Franklin Drilon and Francis Pangilinan lamented the high court’s decision. "We are saddened by the SC ruling... It is certainly a setback in the Aquino government’s campaign against graft and corruption," Drilon said in a statement. Pangilinan added that the only one who stands to benefit from this decision is Pampanga Rep. and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose administration will be the subject of the investigations of the Truth Commission. “With all due respect, the Supreme Court should be a partner and not a stumbling block in the Aquino administration’s anti-corruption efforts," he said in a separate statement. He expressed hope, however, that the Supreme Court would reconsider its position and allow Aquino to "fulfill his campaign promises." Drilon said this development should not deter Aquino from exhausting all legal means to make public officials answerable to allegations of graft and corruption. "These legal obstacles will not succeed in impeding the Aquino administration from fulfilling its commitment to provide closure to these corruption charges and bring the perpetrators to the bar of justice," he said. - KBK, GMANews.TV