FARMERS FEAR USE OF LUISITA FUNDS FOR IMPEACH
[PHOTO - Taking it to the streets: President Benigno Aquino
III airs his views on the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona
during a town hall meeting at the La Consolacion College.]
MANILA, FEBRUARY 18, 2012 (MANILA STANDARD) by Joyce Pangco Pañares -
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Thursday called on the public to take a more
active role in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, but stopped
short of admitting he would be a lame duck if the magistrate was acquitted.
He said an acquittal would make it "extremely difficult if not impossible"
for him to pursue his administration's reform agenda.
He discussed the merits of Corona's trial during a town hall meeting at the
La Consolacion College despite a strong admonition from the Senate that the
merits of the impeachment case must not be talked about outside the impeachment
court.
He said there was no more question as to whether Corona's offenses were
impeachable or not.
"We are now being challenged to fight for our future..." Mr. Aquino told
hundreds of students from various colleges and universities.
"Should the ordinary Juans and Juanas allow themselves to be unheard in this
impeachment?"
"Mr. Corona, that your sworn Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth
is not truthful is clearer than the light of day."
Mr. Aquino made his statement even as his critics exhorted him to attend to
his work and stop meddling in Corona's impeachment trial. They criticized him
for his latest tirades against Corona and accused him of meddling in the
impeachment trial.
Maquindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong said Mr. Aquino's latest attacks on the
chief justice was uncalled for.
Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez and Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay demanded that
Mr. Aquino attend to the country's pressing problems instead of ganging up on
Corona.
"The President should attend to his people. He should leave the impeachment
proceedings alone, for clearly he is out to influence the court and politicize
the entire process," Suarez said. "Our reminders and suggestions have all fallen
on deaf ears," Magsaysay said.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, meanwhile, said the public should
withhold judgment on Corona's impeachment until the trial was over. The group
made the statement following Mr. Aquino's latest attacks on the chief justice.
Mr. Aquino said Corona declared P3.5 million in cash in his statement of
assets in 2010, but his bank accounts now showed he had P31.5 million.
He said Corona's pronouncement that he would allow the opening of his dollar
accounts in due time was not acceptable.
"When is this due time?" Mr. Aquino said.
"Perhaps he is overdue... If you are a Chief Justice, are you exempted from
obeying the law?"
In a television interview after the town hall meeting, Mr. Aquino said the
senator-judges would eventually be judged by the people based on their decision
on Corona's case.
He slammed his critics who have been accusing him of acting like a dictator
in pushing for Corona's removal from office.
"They said I was a spoiled brat and immature," Mr. Aquino said.
"In 2010 they called me wimpy. In 2011 they called me a dictator. Now in 2012
they are calling me a wimpy dictator." With Maricel Cruz and
Rey E. Requejo
Farmers fear use of Luisita funds for impeachment
[PHOTO - Farmers from Hacienda Luisita
hold a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court in Manila on Friday to demand
the immediate distribution of the hacienda owned by the Cojuangcos. The High
Court ordered the hacienda to be distributed to the farmers but there is a
pending motion for reconsideration from the Cojuangcos. Photo by Ruben Aves for
ABS-CBNnews.com]
TWO groups of Hacienda Luisita farmers on Thursday expressed apprehension
that the money supposedly allotted for the compensation of
farmworker-beneficiaries will be "used" by Malacañang to "influence" the outcome
of the ongoing impeachment trial against Chief Justice Renato C. Corona
In a statement sent to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines,
the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Asyenda Luisita and the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa
sa Agrikultura said the newly appointed solicitor general, Francis Jardeleza, is
a "Cojuangco-molded" official and would serve as "spin doctor" to influence the
impeachment court to ensure that the chief justice would be removed from office.
They also said Jardeleza would work for a reversal of the November 2011
Supreme Court decision on the Hacienda Luisita case, preferably when a new Chief
Justice, to be appointed by President Benigno C. Aquino III, takes over.
The farmworkers urged the Supreme Court to expedite the finalization of the
Hacienda Luisita case in order to resolve the brewing tension among the
farmworkers at the Hacienda Luisita. Vito Barcelo
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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