By CARLOS H. CONDE
The New York Times
Published: June 29, 2010
MANILA — President-elect Benigno S. Aquino III announced Tuesday the creation of a “truth commission” that will look into allegations of corruption and human rights abuses by the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
“This is the body that I promised the people I will set up to put closure on so many issues,” said Mr. Aquino, who will take his oath of office on Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference at which he also announced the members of his cabinet, he added that the commission “will, as necessary, prepare and prosecute cases to make sure those who committed crimes against the people will be made to pay.”
The commission will be led by Hilario Davide Jr., a former chief justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, he said.
In response to questions as to which issues the commission would pursue, Mr. Aquino said, “any and all issues, including extrajudicial killings.” Although he did not mention Mrs. Arroyo by name, he cited allegations of vote-rigging and improper campaign financing in the 2004 election, to which her administration has been linked.
However, he said the commission would not investigate alleged abuses involving the family and associates of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, saying the courts were already handling those cases.
Gary Olivar, a spokesman for Mrs. Arroyo, said in an interview that the departing president was “ fully prepared to face them, and she will rely on the reputation of Chief Justice Davide to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the proceedings. And if they are indeed conducted properly, she remains confident of once again being exonerated from these incessant charges against her.”
Mr. Aquino said the commission would coordinate with the Department of Justice, whose new secretary, Leila de Lima, pledged over the weekend to “strengthen the justice system,” which she said was “tied up with integrity, the campaign against corruption and extrajudicial killings.”
Mr. Aquino gave Ms. de Lima, who served as chairwoman of the Commission on Human Rights, the justice portfolio as part of his promise to fight corruption, which was the main theme of his election campaign.
Mrs. Arroyo, her husband and her allies have been dogged by accusations of corruption, including an alleged attempt by her husband and by her political allies to profit from a $329 million project to build a national broadband network.
Her administration has also been criticized for a counterinsurgency campaign that human rights advocates have said attacked leftist noncombatants and resulted in the extrajudicial killings of more than 1,200 activists since she took office in 2001.
Mrs. Arroyo and her officials have consistently denied the allegations.
After she steps down on Wednesday, Mrs. Arroyo will become a congresswoman, the first president to serve in a lower position on leaving office.
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