Corona, GMA reunion possible, says Palace

MANILA, Philippines - Taking the cue from her boss, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte yesterday said President Aquino’s prediction that former chief justice Renato Corona may be reunited with his patron, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in jail is very plausible.

Valte told state-run radio dzRB that such a scenario is legally possible under the current circumstances, particularly because Arroyo is now under hospital arrest on plunder charges – a non-bailable offense – while the ousted chief magistrate is facing charges of tax evasion.

Under Philippine laws, an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, a power that has been vested in the judiciary – and not the executive department – and is guaranteed by the Constitution that Aquino himself had sworn to uphold.

The President had earlier declared that he thinks Commission on Elections commissioner Grace Padaca is “not guilty” of the graft charges she is facing.

The justice system provides that Padaca and Arroyo should be presumed innocent, both being an “accused” in a case.

Unlike Arroyo’s plunder and electoral sabotage cases, Padaca’s trial before the Sandiganbayan has not yet started. The warrant for her arrest was not served for four months and her P70,000 bail was shouldered by Aquino himself.

The mandate of finding an accused guilty rests on the judiciary.

Valte dismissed observations by Siquijor Rep. Orlando Fua that Aquino seemed to be cruel to his political enemies and that his government was bent on pursuing vindictiveness, to the point of sacrificing the rule of law.

“There’s no cruelty there. Obviously, the rights of these people are being afforded to them. They are being made to answer the charges against them in the proper forum. So how can that be cruelty?” she asked.

“How can observing due process be tagged as cruelty? Obviously that’s an exaggeration,” Valte said, defending the prejudgment Aquino made on the cases against Arroyo even if all of these are still undergoing trial, and no final judgment has yet been made.