The end of EO 464?

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Executive Order 464 is one of the more controversial executive orders of President Gloria Arroyo, specifically because it has been used to protect the president by preventing her people from being grilled by the Senate on their knowledge and involvement in the numerous scandals that have rocked this nation during her term. 

After all, if everything is indeed aboveboard and there is nothing to hide, then why must a beleaguered administration resort to hiding its people behind the skirt of an executive order meant to suppress efforts in investigating corruption and wrongdoing in government?  EO 464 is one of the primary reasons why this administration’s credibility has greatly diminished, why the people find it so hard to give the president the benefit of the doubt, and why the people are now clamoring for truth.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines  recently did Malacañang a favor by not calling for the ouster of President Arroyo, but in their latest statement called for the abolition of EO 464, presumably so that those who have knowledge of corruption in branches of government may be free to testify before the appropriate investigating body.

The relieved response by this embattled administration has so far been positive, with the Palace forming a legal panel to study the revocation of EO 464, which should never have been implemented in the first place.  If this administration’s fight against corruption is to be taken as more than just rhetoric, the abolition of EO 464 is a positive start.  However, there is much more to be done if the people are to restore their belief in this government again. 

The sooner that this administration stops protecting its allies from investigation and prosecution, preferably by a Justice Department and Ombudsman, and allows the full force of the law that it has ironically been hiding behind to do its work unfettered and punish the guilty, regardless of who they are, the sooner the people this nation can start to restore their faith and trust in the government. 

They might even allow the current president to actually finish her term before holding her responsible for all of her alleged crimes.*