Aquino-Corona meet a go despite criticisms

DAVAO CITY — President Benigno Aquino III’s meeting with Chief Justice Renato Corona to discuss the judiciary’s budget for 2011 will push through despite criticisms from several lawmakers and the fact that the proposed budget is already in Congress’ hands. Interviewed here, Aquino said Corona — whose appointment during the tail-end of the Arroyo administration had been controversial — had agreed to his invitation to discuss the judiciary’s P14.1-billion proposed budget, lesser than the P27 billion the judiciary is asking for. Aquino said Corona’s positive response is a "very pleasant sign." "It will be also an opportunity to have further talks with regard to judicial reform," he said, adding that among the topics he wants to discuss with Corona are the unaudited and incomplete records on allowances of the judiciary. At least two senators — Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Joker Arroyo — had opposed the meeting, calling it “improper" and “unprecedented." Aquino said an official from the Department of Budget and Management or Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. might stand in his place if he can’t personally make it to the meeting. Aquino is set to fly to the United States early next week for a week-long official trip that will include various business conferences and the United Nations summit on the Millennium Development Goals. Aquino said he hopes the executive and judicial branches will be able to smooth things over as he dismissed the reported plan by several judges to stage a mass leave in protest of the budget cut as something that is just being “played up too much" in the media. “Yung (the) judicial revolt, I think is being played up too much and it’s just a question of agreeing to various interpretations of pertinent laws," he said, reiterating that the proposed 2011 budget for the judiciary is actually 5 percent higher than this year’s P13.3 billion. - KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV