Grudgingly, Senate frees detained fratman

The Senate has complied with the Supreme Court order to release Aegis Juris member Arvin Balag, but while Sen. Panfilo Lacson accepted the directive in the spirit of Christmas, he also said the issue was far from over.

The Senate earlier detained Balag after he was cited for contempt for refusing to answer questions during the inquiry on the hazing death of Horacio Castillo III.

According to Lacson, the Senate decided to comply with the Supreme Court directive even without a final ruling.

“We did so, all in the spirit of Christmas, not to mention our desire to avoid a constitutional crisis during this holiday season,” he said in a statement.

But it was reserving its right to invoke Congress’ power to compel witnesses and resource persons to testify in inquiries in aid of legislation, he said.

He said this was based on Senate rules and Section 21 Article VI of the Constitution, which states: “The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective committees may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure. The rights of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall be respected.”

Senators would discuss the matter at a later time, he said.

“Having said that, there is no saying that we are about ready to give up the rights of the legislature, being a coequal branch of government. We will tackle this issue at the proper time as a collegial body,” he said.