MANILA, Philippines – Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Friday that her earlier statement which called the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) on Truth Commission as political decision and not doctrinal is part of free expression and fair criticism. “I simply cannot understand kung bakit naging negative ang pananaw ng karamihan ng mga Supreme Court. Do they want truth? Do they want closure to all of these allegations of graft and corruption which hounded the past administration? So nakakugulat at nakakadismaya and this part of the free expression and fair criticism,” she told reporters during an ambush interview.
This developed as the National Association of Lawyers for Justice and Peace (NALJP) Friday said critics of the Supreme Court's decision against the Truth Commission should blame those who drafted the flawed executive order creating the commission.
NALJP Chairman Jesus Santos said that the commission's members included three former associate justices of the Supreme Court who should have made sure that the executive order creating the commission that they would serve had sufficient legal ground to stand on.
“Having been part of the Supreme Court, they were supposed to be among the best legal minds of the country. Surely they knew of the illegality of the Truth Commission but surprisingly, they supported it," Santos said.
Santos said that it is unfair that the Supreme Court would be reviled along with former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for striking down the Truth Commission as unconstitutional.
Jeamma Sabate & David Cagahastian, Manila Bulletin
