There are "pitfalls" in having both a truth commission and an impeachment process operating at the same time, says Christian Monsod, former chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). He believes that the truth commission should precede the impeachment process because witnesses might prefer to testify before the impeachment court. Congress and other relevant bodies can then agree to "adopt" the findings of the commission.
One potential problem is that witnesses to be called by the truth commission can cite the case of Juan Ponce Enrile, who was asked to testify by the Davide Commission on his alleged involvement in the 1989 coup attempt. He invoked his right to remain silent because a case had already been filed against him in court. His position was later upheld by the Supreme Court.
There's also a problem with timing. If the House agrees to allow the truth commission to do its investigations before the impeachment complaint is taken up, the House may not be able to meet the time limits set in the Constitution. The Speaker has to include the complaint in the order of business within 10 session days after filing and refer it to the justice committee within three session days. The justice committee is supposed to submit its report to the House within 60 session days from referral. Finally, the report has to be calendared for consideration by the House within 10 session days.
The truth commission may not be able to come up with its findings in time for the House to meet these deadlines.
Moreover, the truth commission is inherently weak, and there are doubts about its nature, even its legitimacy. Who will create it and appoint its members? What powers will it have? What if the findings of the commission contradict those of the impeachment court? And given the high level of distrust in the President, will the findings of the commission clearing the President of any wrongdoing be acceptable to the public?
According to a statement from the Bishop Businessmen's Conference (BBC), a vocal proponent of a truth commission, the body is supposed to:
• Investigate whether allegations, based on wiretapped conversations, that the President took advantage of her office to alter the results of the last presidential election are true or not.
• Look into whether there was systematic fraud committed by election officials, who took part in it, and how the fraud was committed, and to recommend actions to prevent its recurrence.
• Clear those whose names and reputations were unfairly put into question.
• Determine who authorized and executed the alleged wiretaps, and their motives for wiretapping and releasing the recorded conversations.
The President has agreed to the proposed truth commission, which she initially dismissed when presented by civil society groups. NEWSBREAK learned that she had hoped to preempt calls for a truth commission by publicly apologizing for speaking to a Comelec official.
But the President's move has been questioned by the opposition, and now, also by some of her allies. Administration lawmaker Constantino Jaraula, in an interview on ANC, said the President does not have coercive powers and thus cannot delegate powers to the commission. The Davide Commission, which investigated the 1989 coup attempt, was created by a presidential administrative order, but its existence was later affirmed by congressional act.
Malacañang proposes to create the truth commission through an administrative order. At the forum organized by the BBC, Monsod said that a commission formed in this manner would be beholden to the President. "A creation of an administrative order cannot be independent," he pointed out.
Constitutionalist Joaquin Bernas said the commission is unconstitutional because it undermines the impeachment powers of Congress and the power of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) to make a final decision as to who won the presidential elections.
In the same forum, Ricardo Saludo, secretary to the Cabinet, said the current thinking in the executive department is that the commission would engage in fact-finding and would not encroach on the "fault-finding powers" of other bodies like the Comelec, Congress, the justice department or the military tribunals. Its output will be purely recommendatory, he said.
It took the Davide Commission eight months to conclude its investigations. Over a decade after it completed its task, many of the reforms it recommended have yet to be carried out.
Truth commissions are often resorted to if there is legal impossibility of criminal prosecution, says international law professor Harry Roque. For instance, this is being considered in relation to investigating what happened to those who were killed or tortured under the Marcos regime. Since it is now legally impossible to go after the dead dictator, the least that can be done is to provide for mechanisms that would allow the families of the victims to find closure by tracing and recovering the remains of their loved ones.
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