MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) Malacañang on Thursday shot back at critics, saying those who are not content with the revocation of Executive Order (EO) 464 harbor "vested interests" and are not after the truth.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Anthony Golez also warned the public "not to be deceived, manipulated, or used by these groups."

"These are the same critics who demanded for the revocation of the Executive Order 464. Now that President [Gloria Macapagal] Arroyo scrapped the EO, the critics would now state that the move will not help in the search for truth," Golez said in a statement.

"This just proves that the critics have other vested interests in this issue, in the guise of wanting to know the truth," he added.

Following a closed-door meeting with select Catholic bishops on Thursday, Arroyo revoked EO 464, which barred Cabinet-level officials from testifying before legislative inquiries without her permission.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) sought the abolition of the EO, parts of which the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional, so officials implicated in the alleged overprice of the $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal would be compelled to appear before the Senate probe of the scandal.

Critics have branded EO 464 and Memorandum Circular 108, issued after the high court ruling on the order, as ploys intended to let the administration avoid the unearthing of official corruption and other abuses.

Opposition lawmakers, including Senate President Manuel Villar and Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, said revoking EO 464 was not enough because the Palace can still invoke executive privilege.

But deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo asked the senators to recognize the principle of executive privilege, which she stressed, was enshrined in the Constitution.

"Those who create laws should understand the law. We expect that they should be the first to understand and follow the law," Fajardo said.

Also on Thursday, the Senate rejected a compromise deal proposed by the Supreme Court to pave the way for former socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri's appearance at the inquiry into the NBN controversy in exchange for the senators? dropping three questions about a conversation he had with Arroyo.

Neri, invoking executive privilege, refused to answer the questions in his first and only appearance at the Senate October last year. He has sought a temporary restraining order from the high tribunal against an arrest warrant issued by the Senate to compel him to testify.