Supreme Court to Senate: File motion for clarification

MANILA, Philippines - To avoid another legal tussle, the Senate should file a motion for clarification with the Supreme Court amid statements from Malacañang that last week’s recent ruling on executive privilege technically invalidated all Senate hearings. In a press conference, Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the high court last week considered illegal the contempt order issued by the Senate but only with regard to Commission on Higher Education Chairman Romulo L. Neri’s case. The ruling was premised on the Senate’s failure to publish rules of procedure that will cover its actions during the 14th Congress. Malacañang, through Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita has since interpreted this to cover all hearings in the current Congress, and unless the rules are published, all the hearings are "constitutionally infirm." "Before one is declared in contempt, fairness dictates that the person is informed of the rules, and the only way for the public to be informed of said rules is by publication," a memorandum from Malacañang read. Mr. Marquez, however, noted, "There are as many opinions as there are as many lawyers. It’s up to them, that’s their discretion. The best would be to file a motion for clarification on the matter. Let the court decide with utmost certainty." He noted, "There is also the interpretation that the Senate are doing those hearings in aid of legislation. If we say their rules were not published, they could not already do those hearings in aid of legislation? That should not be," he said. Voting 9-6, the Supreme Court last week said the Senate stepped on the Executive’s rights when it asked Mr. Neri certain questions to probe into the mess created by the National Broadband Network project. The three questions asked by the Senators that were considered covered by executive privilege were whether President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo followed up on the project; whether she dictated that the project be prioritized; and whether she asked that the project be approved despite knowledge of bribery issues hounding it. Also voting 10-5, the court ordered the Senate to desist from ordering the arrest of government officials due to the absence of published rules. Meanwhile, senators on Monday hit Malacañang’s interpretation of the court ruling. Senator Francis Joseph G. Escudero said Mr. Ermita is "stretching too far his interpretation of the court ruling [and] he cannot generalize the interpretation of the court ruling and deem Cabinet men immune from inquiries." Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. said Mr. Ermita was "engaging in double talk" since he earlier announced that they will not prevent government officials from appearing in the Senate following the scrapping of Executive Order 464 and Memorandum Circular 108. The twin directives barred officials from testifying in congressional hearings without the approval of the President. Senate President Manuel B. Villar, Jr. said they do not want to "weaken [the Senate’s] legal position" since publishing the rules will mean an admission that they erred in citing Mr. Neri in contempt and subsequently ordered his arrest. Majority Leader Francis N. Pangilinan said, "If we follow his [Mr. Ermita’s] position that based on the [court] ruling, all previous Senate hearings are void due to non-publication of our rules, then we come to the ridiculous and absurd conclusion based on our own rules that all laws passed in the 14th Congress are likewise void for the lack of valid hearings." — Ira P. Pedrasa and Bernard U. Allauigan, BusinessWorld