MANILA, Philippines -- Senators on Wednesday were cautiously happy with the revocation of Executive Order (EO) 464 but said they also want an equally controversial memorandum circular perceived to be a clone of the controversial order scrapped.

Senate President Manuel Villar said he doubts government?s sincerity in allowing officials to testify before congressional inquiries and urged the public to be on guard for any attempt to hand down a replacement to EO 464.

?Malacañang should do more than revoke EO 464 to show its sincerity in promoting transparency and accountability in government,? Villar said. ?It should also scrap MC [Memorandum Circular] 108 and the illegal use of the executive privilege, the tools used to prevent its officials from testifying before congressional hearings on issues affecting the administration.?

Memorandum Circular 108 was issued after the Supreme Court declared portions of EO 464 unconstitutional.

Administration critics say the circular, which says ?all heads of departments of the Executive branch of government shall secure the consent of the President prior to appearing at a question hour before either House of Congress,? is a virtual clone of EO 464.

Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan downplayed the revocation of EO 464, saying the Supreme Court has long ruled on the unconstitutionality of the order.

?There is nothing to scrap. The question is the status of MC 108 because after the Supreme Court issued its ruling on EO 464, the administration issued MC 108,? he said.

Senator Manuel Roxas II said the order should have been lifted long ago because it has been used to ?cover up? anomalies in government. He said the order should extend not only to officials but also documents needed for a better conduct of Senate inquiries.

?For example, in the NEDA [National Economic and Development Authority] documents, we ourselves went to the Supreme Court seeking the release of documents that were previously in the public domain as they were posted on the NEDA website,? he said in Filipino.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said, ?We would be happy if they are not replacing the dog with a new collar?The request of the CBCP [Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines] is for unfettered pursuit of the truth. We want total, unconditional cooperation of the administration in all their official public acts?If they release another order, parang inuto lang nila ang CBCP [they would have just taken CBCP for a ride].?

Senator Loren Legarda said the lifting is a ?rightful? decision but is not sure if former economic planning secretary Romulo Neri can be made to answer all questions from senators after the order?s cancellation.

Senator Richard Gordon said Malacañang?s decision was correct. ?It should never have been issued,? he said. But quoting chief presidential legal adviser Sergio Apostol, he maintained that MC 108 is covered by the revocation because it stemmed from EO 464.