Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday only a court of law could issue an arrest warrant against anybody and in accordance with the rule of law.
He was reacting to the threat of President Rodrigo Duterte that he would send to jail senators who would file contempt charges against Cabinet Officials who refuse to attend the Senate probe into the overpriced procurement of medical pandemic supplies.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, and Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee spearheading the investigation, also reacted negatively to Duterte’s threat.
Meanwhile, President Duterte’s memorandum barring officials and employees of the Executive Branch from attending the ongoing Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings into government’s spending for the COVID-19 pandemic does not upset the principle of checks and balances, Malacañang said.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this remark after the Integrated Bar of the Philippines urged Duterte to recall his memo, saying it “upsets the system of checks and balances and transgresses the doctrine of separation of powers” among the three co-equal branches of the government.
Roque disagreed with the IBP, noting that Duterte does not have the power to stop the Senate from conducting investigations.
“Checks and balances are not affected. Why? Because the President has no power to order a co-equal branch of government to stop their hearings,” Roque said in a Palace press briefing.
Roque said the Senate has the power to conduct inquiries but noted that the lawmakers should not cite Cabinet officials in contempt for failing to appear.
“The Supreme Court said that secretaries are under the direct control and supervision of the President, if they were barred, they should follow and not cite them in contempt for failing to attend Senate hearings. That is the actual decision of the Supreme Court so there is no violation of the Constitution),” he said, citing the high court in its 2008 ruling on the case Romulo Neri vs. Senate.
He reiterated that the President would have no problem should the Senate panel continue to conduct a series of investigations into the government’s spending of COVID-19 response funds, provided the hearings do not disrupt the work of the government officials.
Duterte has repeatedly said the Senate panel has been wasting his Cabinet officials’ time by summoning them in lengthy hearings amid the pandemic.
In his Talk to the People on Wednesday, Duterte said there was “no way” he would withdraw the memo and dared the Senate to challenge the document before the Supreme Court.
He said only the SC could decide on whether the memo “is unconstitutional.”
“Eventually, I think this will reach the Supreme Court. I am not saying that I am all correct. I may be wrong, but I have to protect the Executive Department from the incessant and steady dose of insults coming from the senators,” he added.
In related developments, the Supreme Court has been asked to declare as unconstitutional the order of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to cite Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corporation executive Linconn Ong in contempt and be detained for allegedly testifying “falsely and evasively”, in connection with his company’s multi-billion contract with the government for the purchase of COVID-19 medical supplies.
In a petition, Ong through his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio also sought for nullification for being unconstitutional the implementation of Section 18 of the Senate Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation, adopted via Senate Resolution No. 5 on August 9, 2010, as amended by Senate Resolution No. 145, adopted by the Senate on February 6 2016, insofar as it punishes as contempt the act of testifying falsely or evasively.
The petitioner also asked the SC to declare as unconstitutional Section 6, Article 6 of the Rules of the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigation also known as the Blue Ribbon Committee, adopted on August 14 2019, insofar as it punishes as contempt the act of testifying falsely or evasively.
As immediate relief, Ong is asking the Court to issue a status quo ante order, which is the order of things prior to the committee’s issuance of the contempt, arrest and detention order against him last September 10, 2021 or a temporary restraining order and/or a writ of preliminary injunction to enjoin the enforcement of the same order.