SHORTLY after the late Noynoy Aquino took his oath, he set himself on going after his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, with hammer and tongs. This was the time the nation was awash with news and gossip about the supposed malfeasance of the Arroyo administration. PNoy created the Truth Commission.

It was tasked with investigating and causing the prosecution of perpetrators of financial anomalies during the administration of President Arroyo. The Supreme Court ruled that not only did the executive order violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution — why single out one person or one administration? — but could also serve as a tool for vindictiveness and selective retribution. 'Not to include past administrations similarly situated constitutes arbitrariness which the equal protection clause cannot sanction. Such discriminating differentiation clearly reverberates to label the commission as a vehicle for vindictiveness and selective retribution.'