Corona: Aquino admin trying to ‘destroy’ judiciary

The Aquino administration has been involved in “insidious attempts" to “destroy" the independence of the judiciary through budget cuts and threats to impeach magistrates, a furious Chief Justice Renato Corona said on Thursday. “Never before has the entire judiciary, even in the days of martial law, been subjected to so much disrespect and lack of civility from sectors we sincerely consider to be our partners in nation-building," said Corona during the annual Philippine Judges’ Association (PJA) Convention held at the New World Hotel in Makati City. “I mince no words and I speak of nothing else but the insidious attempts to undermine, destroy even, the independence of the judiciary through such means as forcing us to beg for the funds guaranteed to us by the Constitution or the repeated threats of impeachment based on a distorted and power-tripping interpretation of ‘breach of public trust,’" he added. Corona was referring to the executive branch’s transfer of close to P2 billion of the Supreme Court’s budget to the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) — a move that Corona said betrays the fiscal autonomy of the judiciary guaranteed by the Constitution. Corona, whose relationship with the Aquino administration has been rocky from the start, also cried foul over threats to impeach SC justices for, among others, recalling a supposedly final decision favoring retrenched employees of the Philippine Airlines. Sidestepping the issue Malacañang, for its part, said the proposed cut in the judiciary’s budget for 2012 was not an attack against the Supreme Court or Corona. At a press briefing in Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda accused Corona of “sidestepping" the issue involving the flight attendants. “This has been going on for several weeks. It’s only now when the FASAP (Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines) case was brought up that he’s issuing a statement on the budget of the judiciary," Lacierda said. “I think he’s trying to sidestep the issue on the FASAP case." Lacierda pointed out that Congress has already decided to respect the fiscal autonomy of the judiciary and not touch its MPBF provided that there will be quarterly report on how the fund is being used. “Right is right, wrong is wrong" Corona said that while the judiciary neither has the power of the sword nor the power of the purse, it will nonetheless not hesitate to exercise its power to “strike down what is illegal, unconstitutional and patently immoral." “Right is right. Wrong is wrong. In the Supreme Court, under my watch, right will always find a sanctuary and wrong will never find refuge. Let not those who pervert democracy and the Constitution for their selfish political ends mistake our judicial decorum, wisdom of silence and sense of dignity as signs of weakness, for nothing can be farther from the truth," he said. President Benigno Aquino III had opposed Corona’s appointment as chief justice and had in fact chosen not to be sworn in by him during his inauguration last year. Corona, meanwhile, had led other magistrates in ruling against several flagship programs of the Aquino administration, such as creation of the Truth Commission via Executive Order no. 1, and the temporary restraining order issued against EO 2, which called for the dismissal from service of so-called midnight appointees of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. - with Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMA News