In a TV 5 interview, President Aquino said he is now open to amending the 1987 Constitution to lift the presidential term limit despite the Constitutional ban on reelection, a stunning announcement in a nation haunted by dictatorship; and to clip the Supreme Court’s (SC) power of judicial review.
When asked about his term extension he said: “When I first got into this, I noted I had only one term of six years. Now, after having said that, of course I have to listen to the voice of my bosses (people),” he said.
But then he added that his change of mind on Charter change (Cha-cha) “does not necessarily mean that he would automatically go after an additional term.”
However, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said at a press briefing that the administration will exhaust all means to make sure that the President gets the public’s sentiment on term extension.
Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said that P-Noy is the best candidate the Liberal Party (LP) can field. He did add that Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is the second best candidate they have.
Surprisingly, new Cabinet member, disaster rehabilitation czar and former senator Panfilo Lacson came out to categorically state he is firmly against amending the Constitution. He, however, refused to comment on the President’s extension of term as the former does not want to get himself involved in politics.
Mayor Erap reminded P-Noy of his mother’s legacy, the late former President Corazon Aquino.
Legal experts are one in saying that Aquino would be undoing his mother’s legacy.
Senators J.V. Ejercito and Nancy Binay also expressed their opposition.
Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello was also opposed to any amendment that would allow P-Noy to run for a second term.
LP congressmen led by Edgar Erice, who was the first in the House of Representatives to push for extending Aquino’s term, started to line-up to support the Cha-cha for lifting term limits.
It is expected that congressmen will insist that term limits be lifted not only for the President, but also for them and local officials.
The big question mark is whether the amendment can get a 3/4 vote in the Senate.
Constitutional expert Fr. Ranhillo Aquino-Callangan, dean of the San Beda Graduate School of Law, called the proposal to lift term limits to accommodate Aquino as “self-serving.”
Lawyer Katrina Legarda believes that through Cha-cha, P-Noy wants to weaken the Supreme Court (SC) and make the Executive Department more powerful.
A new twist
President Aquino pulled back from his statement on Cha-cha and the lifting of his term limit in an interview with TV 5 network. “Perhaps the one I would ask to replace me would be a friend of mine, not my enemy,” P-Noy told the reporters.
The logical question: Is Binay an enemy? That seems to be the implication.
The Liberal Party (LP) has called a party caucus at its “Balay” headquarters in Quezon City, Mar Roxas’ residence.
Speaker Sonny Belmonte has yet to make up his mind on a second term for President Aquino. “I am still trying to take it all in. It’s not easy to amend the Constitution,” he said.
Clip SC powers
President Aquino in several interviews criticized the Supreme Court (SC), for overreaching its powers using it as a reason why he now agrees to Constitutional amendments to clip its powers.
Aquino was referring to the SC decision declaring some provisions of the Malacañang-invented Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional and the junking of the congressional pork barrel.
According to the President, the high tribunal uses its power too often to check on the other branches of government — the executive and legislative.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) through its President Vicente Joyas strongly opposed any move to reduce the powers of the SC.
Senators Francis Escudero and JV Ejercito, likewise, noted the setting of a dangerous precedent in clipping the powers of the Judiciary, saying that it may not only prove to be divisive for the country but also pose serious legal consequences in the future, more particularly for the next president of the country.
Senator Koko Pimentel vehemently opposed the proposal because it will kill the system of checks and balances.
Catholic Bishops’ Catholic Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas declared: “We should respect the judiciary and preserve its independence because judicial review is the only recourse of citizens against the heavy hand of the state or transgressions of the Constitution by politicians.”
More NFA corruption
After only two months in office, new National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Arthur Juan was charged by rice trader Jomerito “Jojo” Soliman of extorting P15 million from him to drop the charges against him, for violation of the Price Act.
In a sworn statement submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Soliman said Juan told him that P5 million was for Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and the other P5 million was for Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Kiko Pangilinan.
The P10 million, according to Soliman, was deposited into two separate bank accounts while the other P5 million was placed in a brown Louis Vuitton sling bag left under a table at Amber restaurant in Makati City.