Aquino's supporters in Cebu back Corona’s impeachment

Saturday, December 17, 2011

THE Cebu-based volunteer group that supported Benigno Simeon Aquino III’s presidential bid is joining his campaign to get Chief Justice Renato Corona impeached.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama did not say if he supports Corona’s impeachment, but he said he hoped the proceedings would be done with “circumspect” manner.

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Rama also expressed disappointment in President Aquino, who failed to assure enough funds for the construction of the Carbon public market.

The President, he said, endorsed the Carbon market project for a P100-million loan when the construction of the Unit 2 building of the facility needs P170 million.

Meanwhile, Rep. Gabriel Luis Quisumbing (Cebu, sixth District) denied allegations that he and other congressmen were blackmailed by the Aquino administration in signing the impeachment complaint against Corona.

Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said the Catholic Church can mediate in the conflict between the executive and judiciary branches of government, but there has to be a request.

Mediation

"So far there has been no call for mediation. Without an invitation, the church will not be able to do anything," Vidal said.

In a two-page resolution, the Cebu Coalition of People Power Volunteers for Reform (CCPPVR) threw its “full support” to the President’s anti-graft campaign and in his attempt to “legally and constitutionally remove all stumbling blocks that impede his honest and serious efforts.”

The group did not ask Corona to step down, though. It only asked him to go through the impeachment process.

“He (the Chief Justice) should go through the process. Stepping down in the meantime is his prerogative,” said lawyer Democrito Barcenas, CCPPVR chairman.

Former Isabela governor Grace Padaca, who was present during the signing and presentation of the resolution, described the measure as a “responsibly crafted” call.

Constitutional

A presidential appointee to a subsidiary of the Philippine National Oil Company, Barcenas downplayed fears that the impeachment would weaken the judiciary.

He said the impeachment process, despite the chief justice’s speech last Wednesday, was within the bounds of the law.

Lawyer Roland Paquiano, CCPPVR secretary general, said a constitutional process cannot result in a constitutional crisis.

The chief justice, addressing a gathering of judges and court employees in Manila, criticized the way his impeachment breezed through Congress and hinted that this was the outcome of pressure from Malacañang.

Quisumbing told reporters yesterday that there is no truth to talks that the Aquino administration threatened to bar the release of Priority Development Assistance Funds of congressmen if they did not support Corona’s impeachment.

He said only a third of the Lower House is needed for the impeachment to proceed.

Vote

About 180 of 285 congressmen, including him and four other Cebu representatives, voted for it.

The number is more than the required one-third vote, Quisumbing said.

He told reporters that he supported the impeachment complaint so that Corona can answer the allegations against him.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, who visited Cebu yesterday, denied reports that he is inclined to vote against Corona.

“I swore on my parents’ graves to use my wisdom and conscience when I cast my vote on the matter,” Lacson told reporters yesterday.

LP

Lacson was in Cebu yesterday as a guest of honor in the opening of the Heroes’ Hall in Norkis Park in Mandaue City.

As far as Mayor Rama knows, Liberal Party members were not consulted about Corona’s impeachment.

Rama admitted he was disappointed when Aquino could not assure sufficient funds for the Carbon market project, but he refused to tackle the possibility of bolting the Liberal Party.

“Let's not talk about (political) party. But they should know who to give and who not to give to,” said Rama.

“Wala’y nakitang sukli sa pagpangampanya sa administrasyon (I have not seen the rewards for having campaigned for this administration),” he added.

Dictatorship

Corona described the President’s call for his impeachment as having the trappings of a dictatorship.

Paquiano disagreed. “If the President was a dictator … the chief justice would have found himself in jail,” he said.

Vidal, on the other hand, said he is willing to mediate between Aquino and Corona if requested.

He said former President Corazon Aquino had asked him to mediate between her
administration and the members of the Reformed Armed Movement during a coup attempt in 1989.

Vidal said church officials have to be careful about mediating in such conflicts as their efforts might be misconstrued as meddling in government affairs.

He said this is the reason he did not visit former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo again.

"I did not want to be visible. We don't know what would be said (about bishops' visiting Arroyo). But I received a call from her," said Vidal.

He said when he last saw Arroyo, he told her he will continue praying for her.