Widened ambit seen to weaken truth body
07/07/2010 Expanding the scope of the so-called Truth Commission to include alleged irregularities and abuses committed during the Ramos and Estrada administrations could only muddle, if not weaken, the purpose of the body and affect its initial expressed purpose of giving closure to issues raised against former President Arroyo. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago also expressed pessimism over the competence of the fact-finding body under the helm of former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. in taking up unresolved cases supposedly committed in the last three adminis-trations. “That is justified under the circumstances but it might have a problem building up a case or finding evidence to sustain the charges against (former) President Arroyo. We might be asking too much from it,” she said in a phone-patched interview with Senate reporters. Some church leaders have urged Malacañang to expand the mandate of the body and not focus solely on Arroyo but to include past presidents. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Palace was open to this idea but clarified that it is up to Davide to decide on this matter given his authority to oversee the commission. Source: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100707hed5.html |
0 comments
Post a Comment