Senate will remain independent -- Gordon

SENATOR Richard Gordon said yesterday that the Senate would continue to oppose any proposal from any quarter, including the Supreme Court, that would diminish its prerogatives.

Gordon made the statement after the Senate on caucus Wednesday evening deemed the compromise proposal of the Supreme Court “unacceptable.” The SC tried to broker a “win-win” solution after eight hours of oral arguments last Tuesday on the temporary restraining order filed by former Socio-economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri against the Senate.

“This case is of primordial importance to us because it revolves around our independence as a co-equal branch of government. The Senate feels the threat of an intrusion into its constitutional duties of legislation and oversight,” he said.

He said that the compromise required the senators to limit the questions they would be asking Neri in the inquiry on the national broadband network project pending the Supreme Court’s determination of whether these were covered by executive privilege.

“The Senate must remain independent within its own sphere. The Senate is granted by the Constitution the power to determine whether an invocation of executive privilege by a witness is properly done under existing laws. It is only after the body has made a decision that others can contest it before the Supreme Court,” he said.

Gordon also considered the condition that it may cite Neri in contempt but could not order his arrest or detention a diminution of the Senate’s rights and powers.
“A witness cited for contempt would be sticking his tongue out on us if we could not order his arrest,” he said.

Gordon has been most militant in enforcing the rights and powers of the Senate in legislative inquiries. He had ordered the arrest of Chairman Camilo Sabio of the Presidential Commission on Good Government for repeatedly refusing to appear before the Senate’s investigation of anomalies in Philcomsat. Sabio went to the Supreme Court but was rebuffed when the court upheld the Senate.

Gordon had also disagreed when Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, chair of the Blue Ribbon committee, allowed Neri to leave instead of detaining him when Neri invoked executive privilege in refusing to answer questions about his conversations with President Arroyo on the NBN deal.

“The Neri case would not have reached this far if only we had ordered his immediate arrest. Then, he would have gone to the courts and the Supreme Court would have been forced to decide immediately. Now, because Neri is not under arrest, the Supreme Court will take a longer time to study the case,” Gordon said. Journal Online