Aquino would rather take oath before barangay tanod
MANILA, Philippines - If he had his way, winning presidential candidate Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III would rather take his oath of office as President of the Republic of the Philippines before a lowly barangay tanod instead of the chief of the highest court of the land.
Speaking before reporters at a wake in Tarlac City, Aquino continued a seething word war with the incumbent administration after stating that he would not recognize the appointment of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
"It is in tradition but it is not required by the Constitution as to who [will administer the oath]. Sa barangay tanod na lang ako dito sa Tarlac (I'll just take it before a village watchman here in Tarlac)," he said in an interview.
Aquino has criticized President Arroyo for appointing Corona -- her former presidential legal counsel, spokesman, chief of staff, and acting executive secretary --as Chief Justice.
The issue of the "midnight appointment" of the new Chief Justice has sparked protests among Arroyo's critics who labeled the move as a last ditch effort to save herself from a future investigation.
The Supreme Court, whose 14 (out of 15) sitting justices are Arroyo appointees, previously ruled that a 90-day midnight-appointment ban does not apply to the high tribunal.
Last Wednesday, Aquino urged Mrs. Arroyo to reconsider her decision and allow the next president to appoint the next Chief Justice.
On Friday, the opposition senator and possible president-elect said the issue of Corona's appointment will be investigated under his administration. "It is still violating the Constitution, this midnight appointment. This will be discussed I'm sure," he said.
Breaking tradition
Meanwhile, several quarters agreed that Aquino will not violate any law if he does not take his oath before the Supreme Court Chief Justice.
Sen. Francis Escudero, who endorsed Aquino's candidacy, said the practice of a Chief Justice administering the oath to an incoming President is tradition but there's no constitutional provision that requires it.
"By tradition, all previous presidents took their oaths before the chief justice but I am not aware of any law that he should. In fact, a statement can be made by taking his oath before any officer authorized to administer oaths including a barangay captain...In my 3 terms as a congressman I always took my oath before a barangay captain," he told ANC's Headstart.
Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez and deputy Presidential spokesman Charito Planas also agreed that no law requires the president-elect to take his oath before the Chief Justice.
Planas noted that all presidents of the Philippines, except for presidents Manuel Quezon and Sergio Osmeña, took their oaths before a Supreme Court Chief Justice.
She warned Aquino that he may spark a constitutional crisis if he refuses to recognize Corona's appointment.
"The fact that you don't recognize the head of the judicial department, and the Constitution is the one that provides that the judicial department is led by the Chief Justice. His appointment is legal and members of SC already welcome him and accept him," she said.
She said that instead of complaining about Corona's appointment, Aquino should "move on and focus on how he can effectively lead the country."
SC independence a bigger issue
For his part, Escudero said the bigger issue confronting the Supreme Court is its perceived bias for President Arroyo especially since most of them were appointed by the outgoing president.
"I am hopeful that the judiciary would be independent-minded. I hope that whatever people say about the justices of the Supreme Court, that they will have a sense of history and would abide by what the law states insofar as any case is brought before their court against GMA," he said.
Escudero reiterated that he is against the decision of the Supreme Court allowing the appointment of a new Chief Justice despite a 90-day midnight appointments ban. He added, however, that as a member of the Judicial Bar and Council, he is required to follow the decision of the court once it has become final and executory.
He also said the underlying tension between the judiciary and the new president could augur well for democracy.
"Indepndent naman ang judiciary from the executive and from the legislative. Mas maganda nga siguro kaysa chummy sa judiciary na susundin ng judiciary lahat ng sasabihin ng executive, like under GMA," the senator said. With a report from Gretchen Malalad, ABS-CBN News
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so out of context
It is so out of context to assert that Aquino did not get 50% of the vote and so he did not get the support of the majority.
Ours is a multiparty system where majority is defined and/or ascertained by PLURALITY. Whoever gets the highest number of votes in an electoral exercise that demonstrates 50+1 (in this election, the voter turn out was more than 75%) wins the election. There is presumptive majority in this electoral process.
As to why Aquino should NOT take his oath before Corona, I would like to repost (below) what I said in another blog:
What a laugh! Now, Corona is the good man, so conciliatory…acting as if it was Aquino who actually started the fiasco. Gee! What a good politician for a justice of the court! He has indeed successfully deviated from tradition being one chief justice to shine (and loved it obviously) in his newfound media glitz. The smirk says it all! But mind you, it must be one heck of an act – and an act it shall remain.
A man who has so clearly demonstrated “judicial partisanship” in the past, one who expresses no remorse at present for toying with jurisprudence along with his benefactor and instead declares nonchalantly that he stands on solid legal ground after an obvious VERY unethical maneuvering in the court all in the name of protecting vested interests, WILL NEVER be perceived as independent because he espouses the very opposite of independence. A person who rises above a murky ground will always be a shadowy character because that’s what he is.
Why ask for a year to prove your worth when you can do the most noble of all deeds by saying NO to the appointment and do the country the biggest judicial favor you can give in your lifetime? This time in our history is about symbols, beacons and torches of ENLIGHTENED leadership, of sacrifices, of “selfless self-denial”, if only to give the people some glimmering hope that this country will soon rise again – not to pay lip service to its ridiculous corruption records but to actually combat such practice starting from the topmost.
The travesty of the law was cooked up with Corona and Arroyo openly flouting (experimenting) with jurisprudence, and now Malacanang (the mouthpieces) make it appear like Aquino is the one who would plunge the country into turmoil. Critics of Aquino are zeroing in on his seeming reluctance to “heal” the country by not displaying “statesmanship” and letting go of “divisive posturing” as if doing so will bring this country to its glorious future. Well, that is what one would exactly want if “business as usual” will be the order of the day.
Statesmanship as defined by the Malacanang mouthpieces is NOT what was embodied in the vote so resoundingly delivered by the people. This vote, one that effectively repudiated the Arroyo administration, encapsulates a political statement – an outrage over the offenses committed by Arroyo and her minions through political and judicial maneuvers. The most fitting act of statesmanship in this context is for Aquino to issue a “principled political statement” (Inquirer, May 19), one that reverberates and makes history (and yes, one that deviates from tradition), so healing can rightfully take place in this country.
Again, quoting from Inquirer:
“LET US BE CLEAR: IF THERE IS A POLITICAL storm gathering over the designation of Renato Corona as the new chief justice, it is not the fault, or even the doing, of presumptive president-elect Benigno Aquino III.”
TAMA NA YANG MGA AWAY AWAY TUNGKOL KE AQUINO
magbangayan man kayo ng magbangayan, mag-insultohan, magmurahan, magtirahan ng magtirahan, wala na kayong magagawa kung di makinig, mag-obserba, at tumulong sa ikauunlad ng Pilipinas.
wala naman magagawa ang mga tao dahil tapos na ang botohan. sa ayaw nu man at sa hindi, maaring si aquino nga ang magiging legal na presidente.
ang dapat ninyong sabihin na lang sa mga kolum na ito, sana sundin ni aquino ang nakagisnan ng patakaran ng mga pinoy - he has to be sworn in by whoever is sitting in the supreme court - the chief justice.
as far as i know, all of the past presidents of the philippines were sworn in by the chief justice, bakit ngayong siya na ang uupo, ayaw niyang sundin ang patakaran na sinunod ng lahat ng mga naging presidente ng pilipinas.
so mga kababayan, tumulong na lang kayo na kumbinsihin si aquino na sumunod.
to be a good leader, he must be a good follower tooooooo...
@kardingpuke
nice one bro!
Here's the fact
To all, ABNoy got to realize than there were less than 50% who just voted for him and majority didn't believe in him so instead of nagtutulo ng laway si ABnoy to get his "chair" in Malacanang, he should start the ball rolling for this country. That is, if he got one which i doubt it kaya at 50, single pa rin si Tita!
Don’t say we didn’t warn you so
Don’t say we didn’t warn you so – or no one warned you – Naisahan na naman ang Pilipinas. It’s not a surprise, it’s an expectation.
I know it’s “wrong” in the sense na wag tadyakan ang tumadyak sa sarili niya – but I can’t help but gloat. Take a look at Aquino’s bullcrap – political infighting, impeach a chief justice, noy-bi, the Firm, Kris – and he has not been sworn in yet. This is the same infighting that racked Cory Aquino’s administration since Day 1 – rendering it absolutely inutile, gridlocked, pretty much uninsipired and totally lackluster.
I still remember Peping Cojuangco smuggling race horses from Australia to the chagrin of Cory – pero ok lang, pakapalan ng mukha at konting lagay, ayos na.
Well, you voted for Noynoy…
Get ready to see FAILippines sinking more deeply in the Sea of Yellow cult… lol
MODELA TANGA
karding kakatawa ka..lol. wag mo na patulan si MODELANG TANGA...nasobrahan lang yan ng yellow fever..adik kasi kaya ganyan...lakas ng tama sa amo nyang abnoy..haha
MONGOLOID
PATHETIC BULLY?...?
BWA,HA,HA.. PIKON!!
GROW UP MODELA!
IT'S JUST MY HONEST OPINION..
HE REALLY LOOKS SO SICK. AND THE WAY HE THINKS..
NINOY IS FAR AWAY DIFFERENT FROM MONGOLOID!
HE'S THE BAD SPERM FROM THE MAIN MAN!
IF THE PARENTS ARE BOTH GREAT..
IM SURE..
THE PRODUCT IS DISTORTED!!
@KANDING AND JAIHO...
I BET, YOUR APPEARANCE IS AS UGLY AS YOUR PERSONALITY. YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A COWARD WHO SHIVERS AND HIDES IN THE CLOSET WHEN BEING CHALLENGE...YOU ARE WORTHLESS AND PATHETIC BULLY WHO ONLY FIGHTS WHEN IN MASK!
BOTH OF YOU COME OUT AND BE MAN...AND STOP BEING A FAGGOT...
karding mongoloid n jaiho abnoy
iisa lang kayo...mga duwag! wala pang laban di pa tumatayo si aquino atras na agad buntot nyo.....maybe nasa abroad kayo dahil sa titulo from recto...kawawa....mga dishonest!