Noy: GMA, Corona may end up together in prison

SYDNEY – Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and ousted chief justice Renato Corona may end up behind bars together, as the administration pursues vigorously and relentlessly its campaign against corruption, President Aquino said yesterday.

The President told the Filipino community in Campbelltown City that his administration must continue its cleansing of the bureaucracy to prove to the people that the long arm of justice reaches even the powerful. He said his administration’s efforts to instill in the public the importance of rule of law have come a long way since his banning of wang wang (blaring sirens) in streets.

“Before, the weight of justice is different for the powerful and those without connection. Now, the former chief justice himself was removed from office because he did not fully declare in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth all his cash assets. He declared less than two percent (of his assets) and hid 98 percent,” Aquino said.

“Now, tax evasion charges have been filed against him. Kung mapapatunayang nagkasala, baka po mag-abot pa sila sa kulungan ng pinalitan nating Pangulo, na nasampahan na po ng mga kasong plunder at electoral sabotage (If proven guilty, he might even find himself in jail together with my predecessor who is facing charges of plunder and electoral sabotage),” he said. Arroyo is now a Pampanga congresswoman.

He said his administration simply has to “only do what’s right” and not wait for “miracles” to tackle the numerous anomalies during the Arroyo administration.

Aquino said taxpayers’ money is now being used to fund social services, particularly addressing the backlog in classrooms and textbooks and providing health insurance to ordinary Filipinos. He said gone are days when key agencies like the National Food Authority had to grapple with heavy debts.

He cited as example of waste of people’s money the “Tulay ng Pangulo” program under which “pre-fabricated” bridges were produced without first identifying the places for which these bridges were intended. “If it’s Dolphy’s work we might find it funny, but Dolphy’s a decent man,” he said referring to the late comedy king. “It’s a work of the government,” he said referring to the previous administration’s bridge project.

He said the Arroyo administration approved the contract under the project two days before his inauguration as President in 2010.

“Who will be progressive if that was the kind of governance that the (previous administration) perpetrated in nine and a half years? Instead of asking everytime they would make a decision, ‘Will this help the Filipinos?’ their question was, ‘How do I earn from this?’” Aquino said.

“The face of the Philippines is different now. The government is back to basics. In every decision, we ask, ‘How are we solving this problem? What is its use for the Filipinos? How will this be more beneficial to them?’” Aquino said.

Face the mirror

Aquino also rebuffed accusations that he was persecuting Arroyo and her allies, particularly Corona who was slapped with tax evasion charges after his impeachment.

Corona’s impeachment was based on his culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for not declaring all his wealth in his SALN.  

“Maybe he should not blame me. Maybe he should look in the mirror… as he claimed he was also already trading dollars since grade school. All of these are his decisions. I am just doing my job. So maybe he should not blame me,” Aquino said in a media briefing Thursday evening.

“If he thinks I am being personal to him it’s up to him. But he is a lawyer, he says a good one, a law professor. He has the opportunity to defend himself so he should face these cases. If he did not do anything wrong, then he can ably defend himself,” Aquino said.

He belied claims that the filing of charges against Corona was meant to intimidate the sitting Supreme Court justices, saying BIR Commissioner Kim Henares was merely doing her job.

“Isn’t it that the BIR commissioner has a lawful function? If I stop this, that’s impeachable on my part. She is performing her lawful role, I impede her, I have a case. If we follow their ‘forgive and forget’ (mentality) and I ordered an end to the prosecution of those violating (the constitutional) provision (on government officials’ function) I just showed you (I will be charged),” Aquino said.

He also said his administration had nothing to do or explain about the dismissed plunder charges against Arroyo and some official allegedly involving P540 million Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds.

Former solicitor general Frank Chavez filed the complaint before the Department of Justice in April 2011 claiming that the money was used in the 2004 presidential election when Arroyo sought a fresh mandate as president.

Aquino said the government did not file the case, which even had Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz as respondent.

“(Secretary) Linda Baldoz has explained it well. So without talking on the merits of the case, I really think I don’t have to answer because we’re not the ones who filed. So remember our Department of Justice primarily does not file cases unless the evidence is strong,” Aquino told reporters.

He admitted it would be difficult to find witnesses for the case of electoral fraud against Arroyo.

Arraignment

For her other plunder case, Arroyo will be arraigned at the Sandiganbayan on Monday regardless of her medical condition.

Veterans Memorial Medical Center director Dr. Nona Legaspi made this clear yesterday when asked whether it would be all right for the former president to face the anti-graft court considering her condition.

“We are ordered by Sandiganbayan. We shall comply,” Legaspi said. She is under hospital arrest at the VMMC. Plunder is a non-bailable offense.

Sandiganbayan spokesman Renato Bocar had said the arraignment of the Pampanga lawmaker would proceed as scheduled on Monday unless the Supreme Court issues a temporary restraining order. The plunder case stemmed from alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds during her term as president.

Earlier, Arroyo filed a petition for certiorari before the high tribunal questioning her indictment before the first division of the anti-graft court.

The former president is seeking a TRO from the SC in an effort to stop the Office of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan from proceeding with the plunder case. – With Michael Punongbayan, Rainier Padua