MANILA, Philippines?(UPDATE) The newly formed Truth Commission may face its first challenge, not from uncooperative or belligerent respondents, but from members of the House minority who may question the legal basis for the investigative body.

Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said Saturday the opposition in the House was ?seriously considering? the possibility of challenging the constitutionality of Executive Order No. 1 creating the Truth Commission in the courts.

Lagman, speaking at the Kapihan sa Sulo forum, said that several constitutional infirmities plagued the commission which may have to be resolved by the judiciary.

But in a separate statement, Lagman clarified that the possible move was not intended to protect officials in the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is now a Pampanga representative and a member of the House minority.

?The projected court action is not to shield officials of the previous administration who can be indicted and tried before existing prosecutorial and judicial bodies,? he said. ?The sole purpose of the judicial recourse is to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution on separation of powers and maintain the rule of law.?

He earlier pointed out that the Truth Commission, which is tasked with digging deep into the alleged sins of the previous administration, would duplicate the functions of the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman.

He also said the executive alone could not create commissions, and that legislative action was needed to give the Truth Commission legs to stand on.

Lagman also found questionable the long life of the commission, which has up to December 31, 2012 to complete its work. He this was too long.

?I thought we were in a hurry to achieve closure? Why would we dribble this for a long time?? he said at the forum.

He warned that the commission's hearings may just be used to make those being investigated look guilty in the public's eyes.

?This inordinately long duration granted to the Commission to terminate its investigation gives rise to apprehensions that the Truth Commission will be used as a launching pad for trial and conviction by publicity of expected respondents,? he said.

He also noted that the commission's expiration date may have been set to coincide with a time when the current Ombudsman has already completed her term.

The term of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who has been accused of coddling the former President and her allies, ends in December 2012.

Lagman said that whatever the findings of the Truth Commission, prosecutorial and investigative bodies, as well as the courts, would still need to make their own independent assessment of the issues.

?In other words, this Truth Commission could be an exercise in futility,? he said.

He said the Aquino administration may have pursued the idea because it was ?populist.?

?But is it constitutional; is it legal? These are questions we have to ask and tell the people,? he added.

Lagman, in underscoring the need for legislative action in creating commissions, explained that two commissions created by President Benigno Aquino III's mother, former President Corazon Aquino, were created by legislative authorization.

He said that when Corazon Aquino formed the Presidential Commission on Good Government and the Committee on Human Rights, she was acting as legislator under the Freedom Constitution of the revolutionary government.

He also said the language of EO No. 1 with regard to the funding of the Truth Commission, which would come from the Office of the President, was not specific or transparent.

This was because the President does not have funding authority since the power of purse lies with the legislature, he added.

Speaking at the same forum, Armed Forces spokesperson Jose Mabanta said the military leadership had no problem with soldiers being called to testify before the Truth Commission.

Mabanta said that it was important to clear the institution and remove the cloud of doubt over its head.

?We will speak out if there is a need,? Mabanta said.

Former Marine Col. Ariel Querubin earlier bared plans to reveal the names of the military officers who were privy to the alleged cheating that took place in the 2004 presidential election. The election scandal hounded the Arroyo administration, with critics using the controversy to question its legitimacy.