SC ruling vs Truth body has nothing to do with Arroyo — son

The son of former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday said it was “downright stupid" to link his mother to the Supreme Court decision against the Truth Commission, the body that was supposed to investigate unresolved controversies during the Arroyo administration. “That is downright stupid! The SC decision has nothing to do with GMA [Arroyo’s initials]," Ang Galing Pinoy Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey" Arroyo said. “It all boils down to the legal and moral flaw of the proclamation creating the Truth Commission, particularly the violation of the Constitutional provision on the equal protection clause," he added. The Supreme Court, which is dominated by Arroyo appointees, on Tuesday ruled that President Benigno Aquino III’s Executive Order No. 1, which orders the creation of the Truth Commission, was unconstitutional because it violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution for singling out Mrs. Arroyo and her administration. The decision did not sit well with some officials, with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima describing it as a “political decision." The younger Arroyo said the critics’ line of reasoning was meant to divert public attention “from their ignorance of law and the politics of vengeance they are pursuing." He said there is nothing new in the accusations against his mother, noting that the Aquino camp has been training its guns on the Arroyo family since the campaign period for the May 10 elections. “But what should worry us most is the fact [that] even during the campaign they... vowed not to recognize the SC Chief Justice [that would replace retiring Chief Justice Reynato Puno]. And their criticisms of the SC ruling on the Truth Commission only validate our fear they not only recognize the Chief Justice but the whole institution as well for not toeing their brand of governance," Arroyo said. Among those who voted against EO No. 1 was Chief Justice Renato Corona, whose appointment just before the May 10 elections was questioned due to a constitutional ban on "midnight appointments" during the election season. But last May, majority of the SC justices ruled that Mrs. Arroyo, who was still president then, could legally pick the successor of outgoing SC chief Puno because the chief justice post is exempt from the appointment ban. Arroyo said not recognizing or adhering to the ruling of a co-equal branch would result in chaos. “There would no longer be a rule of law," he said. The AGP party-list representative said the Aquino government should find ways to ease the economic burden of the people instead of trying to look for scapegoats for the fiasco created by the flawed proclamations. He also asked the critics of the SC decision to respect the high tribunal and its wisdom in protecting the rights of a person. “As the way it is now, there seems to be already a presumption of Arroyo's guilt based on Malacañang allies’ statement that the SC decision is tantamount to leaving her scot-free. Yet they profess that said commission is yet to establish the truth," he said. - KBK/JV, GMANews.TV