Noynoy on Nograles' statement on the Aquino government

"In a news article, Speaker Nograles said 'Personally, I think that the 1986 revolutionary government during the presidency of Cory, where there was absolutely no Constitution, as really the best example of raw, unbridled and uncontrolled power. That was a revolutionary government and the Constitution was made by those she appointed.'"

"May we ask when she exercised this raw, unbridled and uncontrolled power Speaker Nograles is now saying? I am very surprised that Speaker Nograles, a known human rights crusader, has chosen to refute my mother's criticism of his widely controversial Con-Ass initiative by assailing the Aquino presidency. It is my understanding that he was part and parcel of trying to dismantle the dictatorship and was thus supportive of the revolutionary government."

"It will be remembered that as soon as my mother assumed office, she constituted a commission that would enact a new constitution that would protect our nation from a repeat of the brutal events that our people were forced to endure during martial law. The outcome was the 1987 Constitution that was ratified overwhelmingly in a plebiscite that provided for an elected president, an elected Congress, and a Supreme Court appointed by the president and vetted by a congressional commission. Under my mother's term, a new government with three branches of power operating co-equally was established."

"In contrast, Mrs. Arroyo is not burdened by a revolutionary government but her actions have suggested that we are headed in that direction. Early in her first term, she declared a state of rebellion when there was an attempt by mass demonstrators to break into Malacañang, despite no clear evidence that it was necessary to do so. In September 2005, she issued Executive Order 464 or the controversial gag order that prevented Cabinet members to appear in legislative inquiries without her permission. In February 2006, she declared a state of national emergency through Proclamation 1017 after claiming that the government had foiled an attempted coup d'etat, when there was no proof that a coup was even about to be staged.

"It is sad that in keeping with his role as a staunch administration ally, Speaker Nograles has chosen to speak against a person whose only motive while she was the president was to restore our nation's democratic institutions damaged by a previous dictatorship. We hope that he will soon adhere to the truth that he staunchly defended in his human rights advocacies."