MALACAÑANG'S legal team will meet with the Catholic bishops this week to take up the abolition of Executive Order 464, which disallows officials from the executive branch from attending Senate inquiries without the permission President Arroyo.

The legal team is composed of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera, chief presidential counsel Sergio Apostol, Manuel Gaite, deputy executive secretary for legal matters, and government corporate Counsel Alberto Agra.

Apostol said the legal team will meet today to discuss the exact date of the dialogue with the bishops.

The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines in a pastoral letter last week recommended that EO 464 be scrapped.

The legal team would also discuss the petition of acting Higher Education chair Romulo Neri before the Supreme Court which seeks to prevent him from appearing in the Senate. The case is up for oral argument tomorrow.

Apostol also said there is no consensus yet on the revocation of EO 464 contrary to last week's pronouncements by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye.

Despite all the talks on the abolition of EO 464, the Palace remains tight-lipped on Memorandum Circular 108, which Sen. Joker Arroyo branded as a "resurrected" version of the provisions of EO 464 that the Supreme Court has ruled as unconstitutional. The Catholic bishops have not called for the revocation of the memorandum. - Regina Bengco