Lawyers Condemn Use of Legal Processes to Cover Up Crimes

Bringing the issue to the Courts is a legal trap

The NUPL condemns Pres. Gloria Arroyo’s use of legal institutions and processes to mislead the people and suppress the truth behind charges of corruption behind the NBN-ZTE contract and harass those who are oppose to this suppression of the truth. The belated “revocation” of EO 464 is a worthless legal mumbo-jumbo of no legal consequence and is a blatant attempt to mislead the people and the CBCP. Without the unhindered testimony of Sec. Romulo Neri and other witnesses, the “bring it to the court line” espoused by the executive is a legal trap.

EO 464 is dead: Executive Privilege is still alive

The announced revocation of EO 464 by Pres. Arroyo is of no legal consequence. The fact that it was only revoked now, is actually a proof that Malacanang has persisted in using it in complete disregarded the Supreme Court decision in 2007. Rather than hailed, it should be exposed for what it is—an arrogant assertion that Pres. Arroyo only follows the Supreme Court when and if she wants to.

The Senate has decided not to accept the compromise agreement offered by the Supreme Court. Malacanang which has arrogantly disregarded the Court’s decision on EO 464 has no right to call the Senate’s assertion of its power to investigate an arrogant act. We hope the Senators will continue to be united despite differences in opinion on the compromise agreement. The issue of executive privilege is essentially a clash between the executive and legislative branches requiring the decisive intervention of the judiciary. In the end, the Supreme Court has to decide on the issue squarely and break the impasse. We hope the Supreme Court will rule on the side of the truth and accountability.

Bring the issue to the courts: a Legal Trap

The line proposed by Executive Officials to bring the NBN-ZTE case to the courts is nothing but an attempt to mislead the people and trap them into a legal limbo that will thwart efforts to hold public officials accountable.

Firstly, no criminal information in court can be filed without the filing of a complaint with the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman, the two institutions that did not raise a finger to investigate the ZTE-NBN contract even after Pres. Arroyo cancelled the same and after Sec. Romulo Neri implicated under oath Mr. Benjamin Abalos for bribery in the NBN deal. The Ombudsman is required under Sec. 15 (1) of RA 6670 to :

1) Investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person, any act or omission of any public officer or employee, office or agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient. It has primary jurisdiction over cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan x x x

The ZTE contract was cancelled or suspended by Pres. Gloria Arroyo because of irregularities—a clear admission that corruption has taken place. Under the law, the Ombudsman should have acted as early as last year, on its own, not only because of the reported cancellation of the contract but also because a cabinet member has admitted the bribery attempt in a Senate investigation. The Ombudsman, however, did not find these acts illegal or at the very least ‘improper’, a clear sign of its lack of interest to seriously investigate and prosecute the anomalies.