Body language tells it all
Go on, Mr. President. Give the mob what they want. Don’t waste the momentum that you have gained. Take over the Arroyo appointees-dominated Supreme Court. Your popularity will rise higher no Philippine President has ever achieved.
You were right in humiliating Chief Justice Renato Corona. He deserves it for being Gloria Arroyo’s lackey.
Teach him a lesson for conspiring with Arroyo in putting one over the people and assuming the top SC position when the 60-day election ban was in force.
You are right about reminding him, to his face and in public, and the people that he is a “midnight” appointee.
“Hindi ito ang unang beses na gumawa ang Korte Suprema ng mga desisyong napakahirap unawain. Ayon sa article 7, section 15 ng Saligang batas, ‘Ang isang Pangulo ay hindi dapat gumawa ng mga paghirang sa loob ng dalawang buwan bago sumapit ang susunod na halalang pampanguluhan at hanggang sa matapos ang kanyang taning ng panunungkulan, maliban na lamang sa mga pansamantalang paghirang sa mga katungkulang ehekutibo.’
“Ngunit alam naman po nating pinilit ni Ginang Arroyo na magtalaga pa rin ng Chief Justice. Hinirang siya, hindi dalawang buwan bago ang halalan, kundi isang linggo matapos ang eleksiyon. Base sa batas at sa dati nilang pasya, sumangayon ang Korte Suprema na bawal magtalaga ng pwesto dalawang buwan bago sumapit ang susunod na eleksyon, maliban na lamang kung ito ay pansamantalang posisyon sa ehekutibo. Ngunit bumaliktad sila nang italaga ni Ginang Arroyo, ating kagalang-galang, na Chief Justice Renato Corona: isang pwestong hindi saklaw ng ehekutibo, kundi sa hudikatura. Ang tanong ngayon: lumabag ba ang Korte Suprema sa pagbabaliktad ng dating pag-unawa ng ating Saligang Batas?”
I’m just curious, Mr. President. Since the House of Representatives is under your control, why didn’t you try impeaching Corona for the anti-Pnoy decisions that the Arroyo-appointees dominated court made?
On the other hand, forget the question. Impeachment is tedious, exhausting process. Better to shame him publicly to compel him to resign. Better yet, let your mob take over the High Court.
Anyway, the public loves what you are doing.
In an ABS-CBN TV Patrol text and call-in survey last Monday, of the more than 1,000 who responded, 80 percent approved, while 20 percent disapproved, of what you did to Corona at the 1st National Criminal Justice Summit,.
Pulse Asia’s latest survey (Nov 10-23, 2001), taken after the filing of the electoral sabotage case against Arroyo and her arrest, showed that a high “72% of Filipinos are appreciative of President Aquino’s performance while 74% trust him.”
On the other hand, Pulse Asia said, “less than one in ten Filipinos (9%) is critical of and distrusts the President. Ambivalence toward presidential performance and trustworthiness is expressed by nearly the same percentages of Filipinos (19% and 17%, respectively).”
Your opponents make fun of your intellect.But you are a lot smarter than them, Mr. President. You know that if you are at a loss with the more serious stuff like the economy, give the people entertainment. And what is more entertaining than “sabong” at the highest level?
You complained about the decisions of the High Court against your administration:
“We started by creating the Truth Commission, which was supposed to look into the alleged widespread acts of corruption during the past administration, and to hold those responsible for them to account. We had no other purpose for this than to address past wrongdoings as quickly as possible. But we all know what happened: The Supreme Court said that the formation of the Truth Commission was unconstitutional. From the onset, obstacles had already been put in our path.
“It is within the Comelec’s duties to make certain that our elections remain fair. So it is but natural that they ask for the assistance of the DOJ in investigating the allegations of cheating back in 2007. The formation of such panels is not uncommon, and yet once again the Supreme Court is questioning it. They are also questioning the legality of the warrant of arrest issued by the Pasay Regional Trial Court to Mrs. Arroyo.”
You even brought up your crusade when you were a senator: opposition to the creation of districts in Camarines Sur, the turf of one of Gloria’s sons, Rep. Dato Arroyo.
You said: “Another decision we have trouble accepting concerns the creation of districts in Congress: Article 6, Section 5 of the Constitution states that every district must have a population of more than 250,000. The problem was, there were areas that could not achieve this number–such as Camarines Sur, which has a population of about 176,000. When I was still in the Senate, as Chairman of the Committee on Local Government, I questioned the creation of this district, though the Supreme Court only junked the inquiry. The question now is: If the establishment of a district no longer relies on population, on what basis, then, will lawmakers rely? Does this mean that we continue to have rules on the creation of cities, but we have none for provinces or districts in provinces? I commiserate with the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, Senator Bongbong Marcos: I wish you good luck in resolving this problem; I tried my best to do so in my time.”
But Mr. President, I’m disappointed you didn’t bring up the Hacienda Luisita decision.