Drilon: Senate preparing SC petition questioning Duterte’s gag order on Cabinet execs

The Senate is currently preparing a petition before the Supreme Court questioning President Rodrigo Duterte’s order barring Cabinet officials from attending the Senate probe into the alleged overpriced COVID-19 supplies, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Thursday.

“Yes, it [the petition] has been discussed. The decision is to question the President Duterte's memorandum banning executive officials from attending the Pharmally hearings, as I did in 2005 when as Senate President, I questioned in the Supreme Court the validity of [President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Executive Order] 464,” Drilon said in a text message to reporters.

“The petition is being prepared, and will be filed shortly,” he added.

Last week, Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Richard Gordon was reported as saying that the Senate will challenge Duterte’s gag order to his Cabinet men before the SC.

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said bringing the issue before the high court is the “right thing to do.”

Lacson likewise mentioned Arroyo’s EO 464 which he said was previously interpreted by the SC and ruled that Congress shall not be deprived of their power to legislate under the principle of separation of powers.

“The present memo issued by PRRD is even worse than what GMA issued in 2006 which the Supreme Court struck down in part for being unconstitutional,” Lacson noted.

In his latest public address aired Monday night, Duterte welcomed the senators' plan, saying the lawmakers have finally “seen the light.”

“This is by far the most decent thing the committee has done and we are most eager to answer whatever questions you have regarding my not allowing officials of the executive to attend your hearings that are for legislative purposes," he added.

The October 4 memorandum which was signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea states that the Senate probe had reached a point where the participation of individuals under the Executive department had greatly affected the government’s ability to fulfill its mandate amid the pandemic, echoing President Duterte’s earlier pronouncements.

The memorandum accused the Senate of overstepping its authority in its efforts to hold people accountable.

Gordon earlier called the memorandum “unconstitutional” given that there were no issues of "national security, executive privilege, and diplomatic discussions as mentioned in the case of Senate vs. Ermita."

The Senate panel is set to continue its investigation today, Thursday at 11 a.m.

The senators have been the subject of Duterte’s ire as they continue the Senate investigation into the government’s procurement of COVID-19 supplies in 2020.

The Senate blue ribbon committee is also looking into the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service's purchase of P8.6-billion worth of face masks, face shields, and PPEs from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, a firm that is being linked to former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang.

The company only had a P625,000 paid-up capital when it entered transactions with the government. — RSJ, GMA News