Palace trusts SC to deal with truth body fairly

(Updated 6:23 p.m.) Even though 14 of the 15-member Supreme Court (SC) bench are Arroyo appointees, Malacañang believes the high court will remain impartial if certain groups push through with their plans to challenge the legality of the Truth Commission. "We have to trust the institution of the Supreme Court. They are the final arbiter and I'm sure they will be ruling on the case based on the merits of the executive order and not because they were appointed by former President [Gloria Macapagal] Arroyo," said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda at a press briefing on Tuesday. Lacierda said newly-appointed Solicitor General Joel Cadiz, a former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, is ready to defend the government's creation of the Truth Commission. There are currently 14 sitting justices in the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Renato Corona. President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III has yet to name the 15th member that will occupy the seat vacated by Corona when Arroyo appointed him as chief justice. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, meanwhile, said the Aquino administration is unfazed by reported plans to block the commission from probing the alleged scandals that hounded Arroyo's nine-year rule. "We'll confront that legal challenge head on once it is filed," she said at a separate press briefing. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Monday criticized as a "work of amateurs" Aquino's Executive Order No. 1 creating the truth panel. She added she might question the order's constitutionality before the high court. House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman also said the House of Representatives minority bloc is seriously considering bringing the matter before the courts. Both argued that Congress must first pass a law creating the commission, or allowing Mr. Aquino to order the creation of such body. De Lima had earlier insisted that President Aquino has the prerogative to form the Truth Commission, noting that Mrs. Arroyo herself created independent investigative bodies, whose legalities were not questioned because it was within her powers to form such commissions. – with Sophia Regina Dedace/VVP/KBK, GMANews.TV