Palace to Corona: Why blame us?

“Impeachment is a constitutionally-mandated process

MANILA, Philippines – Don’t look at us.

Malacanang said on Monday, Dec. 11, 2011, that it is puzzled by the claim of Chief Justice Renato Corona that an alleged move to oust him would destroy democracy in the country, since impeachment is a “constitutionally-mandated process” that concerns an individual and does not target the entire institution represented by the latter.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte was reacting to a speech made by Corona to Court employees Monday morning, which described impeacg moves against him as “a scheme that will destroy our democracy” and one that will “destroy the court and the independence of the judiciary.”

“Impeachment is a constitutionally-mandated process. It is a measure for accountability and to equate the concept to a destruction of democracy is contrary to the fact that it is enshrined in the Constitution,” Valte said.

She added that President Aquino did not assault the judiciary when he raised questions about Corona’s impartiality due to his perceived strong links with former President Arroyo.

“Raising questions on official actions can never be construed as a direct assault. Not one branch of government is isolated from the other. We have a system of checks and balances,” Valte said.

The judiciary, Valte added, “remains to be independent; there is no meddling on how they come up with their decisions; there is no meddling as to how they conduct their daily business.”

“What the President was merely intending was to raise questions on official actions,” Valte said, referring to the President’s recent strong statements against Corona.

Asked if the Palace has nothing to do with the move by the President’s allies, she said, “Until the President says something, that will be an independent move on the part of the Liberal Party.” – Rappler.com