Philippine Politics

MANILA, Philippines – Senators on Thursday described the Supreme Court ruling which upheld the executive privilege invoked by former national planning chief Romulo Neri when he evaded questions regarding the government’s deal with China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corp. as “erroneous,” “terrible,” and “unreasonable.”

However, the senators said they would respect the decision and vowed to continue their pursuit of the truth in relation to the deal.

Senator Francis Escudero described the decision as “erroneous” and warned it would shield corrupt government executives linked to anomalies.

“I believe that this is an erroneous ruling that will henceforth be used as a subterfuge of the corrupt and those who want to escape accountability while holding public office, this is a dark day indeed for constitutionalists and our legal system,”he said.

In another interview, Senator Aquilino Pimentel described the ruling as a “terrible, unreasonable decision.”

For his part, Senator Francis Pangilinan said that he was “saddened” by the decision but added that they would have to respect the ruling.

“While we will have to recognize and respect the ruling, we are nevertheless saddened that the SC has opted to take the side of Malacanang in this controversy but nevertheless, it is a sad day for greater transparency and accountability,”he said.

Senator Manuel Roxas II echoed Pangilinan in saying that the Senate would respect the decision.

However, he said that the Senate still believes that the privilege should only cover issues that threaten “national security, diplomatic relations, and peace and order.”

“Executive privilege should not apply to projects such as the (ZTE deal), or other matters where graft and corruption are alleged,” Roxas said.

He added that the Senate still awaits the high court’s decision on the government’s claim of executive privilege over the the NEDA documents pertaining to the ZTE project.

“These documents have always been open for all to see, and rightly so, because they are of public interest and relate to projects and programs paid for by the public,” Roxas added.

Roxas, however, stressed that the Senate will be firmly committed on its quest for truth.

“Our search for the truth on this matter is far from over. We will continue to exhaust all legal resources to get some accountability on this anomalous deal,” Roxas said. - Amita Legaspi, Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV