PNoy: I don’t have time for GMA memoirs

MANILA, Philippines – Sorry, GMA. Your former student won’t read your book. 

President Benigno Aquino III said he would like to read the memoirs of his predecessor but thanks to her, he will not have the time to do so.

Aquino responded to reporters’ questions about the memoirs of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Wednesday, April 11. That same day, Arroyo pleaded not guilty to graft charges in relation to the botched NBN-ZTE deal.

“Ang problema lang nga, sa dami ng iniwan niyang problema sa akin, napakarami kong babasahin para mahanap ‘yung mga solusyon sa suliraning iniwan niya sa akin.” (The problem is with all the problems she left me, I have so much to read to find solutions to those problems that she left behind.)

Arroyo is writing her memoirs while in detention at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City. 

Aquino admitted though that he is curious about Arroyo’s life story.

“I also want to understand. What motivated her to do the things that she did? Maybe I will have a clue to understand, and maybe I can ensure that I will not be in that situation or condition where those views arose,” he said in Filipino.

Watch Aquino’s press conference below. 

‘Corona claims fit for action film’

Aside from Arroyo, Aquino also spoke about another rival: Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Aquino was asked about claims of Corona that his house has been under surveillance, his communication tapped, and he and his family have been harassed in the course of the impeachment trial.

Corona made the statement in his home province of Batangas during an event organized by legal groups. He said the harassment was done by an “ambitious, no-mercy, no-conscience presidency” aimed at establishing dictatorship.

Aquino laughed off the accusations.

“Me, without a conscience? You know, the simple answer there is I will just pray for the Chief Justice. He is thinking about too many things that are good if we are making an action film or drama but it’s kind of divorced from real life.” 

That same afternoon, Aquino delivered a speech criticizing Corona and what he called the slow and sorry state of justice in the Philippines. – Rappler.com