De Venecia under fire for silence on EO 464

First posted 03:08pm (Mla time) Feb 13, 2006
By Maila Ager
INQ7.net

SPEAKER Jose de Venecia has come under fire for his silence on Executive Order 464 that bars government officials from attending congressional hearings without the approval of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
While the Senate was fighting the directive, House Deputy
Minority Floor Leader Roilo Golez said the House leadership had not given any statement, "not even a whimper," in defense of the institution.

"It is a pity that we in the 13th Congress are being made legislative eunuchs but the leadership does not protest," Golez said in his speech during the flag raising ceremony in the House on Monday.

"This must be one of the reasons why the House is now ranked last as an institution by the Makati Business Club with a -80 rating," he said.

Golez branded the executive order issued by President Arroyo as an attack against Congress to suppress the truth and protect Cabinet members from "serious questions on the President's legitimacy and the scandals that surround them like jueteng and the fertilizer fund mess."

He said it was the first time since the Quezon presidency that a President had prevented Cabinet members from appearing in budget hearings.

"Not even [the late Ferdinand] Marcos did that," said Golez, who served as postmaster general during the Marcos regime.

CIBAC Partylist Representative Joel Villanueva, an opposition member, called on Malacañang to apologize to the public for "flip-flopping" on the issue.

He was referring to a move by the Palace to also bar Cabinet officials from attending the budget and confirmation hearings but withdrew its decision later on.

"The last thing that they should be doing right now is say sorry about it. They know that they were wrong and they should admit that," he said.

Villanueva also reiterated the opposition's call to scrap the executive order, saying it was "illegal, unconstitutional, and immoral."