Palace: No need to reshuffle legal team despite 'setbacks'

Malacañang sees no need to reshuffle its legal team despite suggestions to overhaul it, after supposed legal setbacks under President Benigno Aquino III's watch, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over the weekend. Valte particularly referred to calls for an overhaul of the legal team after the Supreme Court blocked appointments of officers-in-charge for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. However, she noted that “everybody serves at the pleasure of the President." On Wednesday, opposition members at the House of Representatives blamed President Aquino’s advisers for the various legal “setbacks" that his administration has suffered, and advised the him to replace some members of the legal team. Lawyer Harry Roque Jr. reportedly said the Palace would not have suffered the setback on the ARMM issue had its legal team coordinated more closely. He has also been quoted as saying the Palace, in particular, should have consulted Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz on the matter. Valte, however, denied Roque’s claim. “Nagko-coordinate ang legal team ni Pangulo. Kahit si Sol-Gen Cadiz, kung malaking isyu na ganyan, nag-uusap sila," she said. Also, Valte noted that in several cases, the Palace has had to withhold its comments on legal matters until it gets a definite position from the Solicitor-General, the Executive Secretary, the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, and the Department of Justice. — with Paterno Esmaquel II/LBG, GMA News