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De Lima: Aquino likely to create new truth commission


If the Supreme Court (SC) will once again junk Malacañang's bid to create the Truth Commission, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III will likely issue a new executive order creating a truth body to investigate corruption scandals during the Arroyo regime. On Monday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said crafting a new order is one of the "strongest options" that the government can take if the SC denies the administration's motion for reconsideration. However, De Lima said the administration is still optimistic that the SC will reverse its earlier ruling that found Executive Order (EO) No. 1 unconstitutional as it supposedly violated the equal protection clause for zeroing in on the Arroyo administration. "The strongest option so far would be the issuance of the new EO if the motion for reconsideration is denied. But of course, the administration is hopeful that majority of the Supreme Court [justices] would still re-examine and reconsider their position on the Truth Commission," said De Lima. De Lima said if the SC denies the motion for reconsideration, EO 1 can no longer be amended because it will be deemed null and void. She added that the administration is also studying the possible scope that may be covered by the new executive order. "We are still studying and mulling about it [bigger scope]. Just to anticipate. But as I said, we are hopeful that the SC will rethink and reconsider," said the Justice secretary. Motion for reconsideration In December last year, Malacañang, through the Office of the Solicitor General, asked the SC to reconsider its decision to void EO 1. The Palace said the equal protection clause of the 1987 Constitution was not violated because "there is no intent to unfairly discriminate against the previous administration. "EO. No. 1 does not single out individuals but refers to questionable transactions during the Arroyo regime," part of the motion read. Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz said that Malacañang chose to file a motion for reconsideration instead of amending EO 1or crafting a new executive order because "we believe that the EO is correct in every respect." "I don't think we have to amend it," he said. The establishment of a Truth Commission was one of Aquino's biggest campaign promises. However, in December, the SC — 14 out of 15 members of which are Arroyo appointees — ruled EO No. 1 as unconstitutional. The Aquino administration said the SC ruling was a setback to its reform efforts. – VVP, GMANews.TV

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