MANILA, Philippines - Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda described former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s opposition to Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales’ bid for Ombudsman as disturbing, dangerous and damaging to the Supreme Court.
In a press release, Lacierda said, “Mrs. Arroyo takes a dangerous, verging on scurrilous, tack by imputing a lack of judicial integrity to Justice Morales on the basis of her voting record.â€
“It wasn't so long ago as to be beyond recall when Mrs. Arroyo and her acolytes had virtuously declaimed that the Supreme Court was not in her pocket as president, saying it was sheer coincidence the majority voted favorably on cases raised against her policies,†Lacierda said.
The former President filed her opposition before the Judicial and Bar Council on the basis of the history of the decisions of Carpio-Morales as a member of the Supreme Court. Arroyo said the magistrate, who is favored supposedly by President Benigno Aquino, may not give her family and allies due process in court.
Arroyo has apparently adopted a position that she has insisted before was beyond consideration, Lacierda said.
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At the very least the aggressive assertion of independence on the part of the high court's majority Mrs. Arroyo insisted upon should be given Justice Morales. Otherwise it would serve to admit what Mrs. Arroyo had long denied: that the justices voted not on the basis of impartial law, but instead, with partisan considerations,†Lacierda stressed.
He even cited a famous quote: “What is sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander.â€
“We cannot determine what would inspire Mrs. Arroyo to go off message and even unleash that living monument to her maladministration of the justice system, former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, but it does seem she has some explaining to do to the Supreme Court and the Filipino people,†he added.
Gonzalez filed a similar, but separate, opposition to Carpio-Morales' bid. The former Justice Secretary denied Arroyo had anything to do with his position.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/06/09/11/%E2%80%98arroyo%E2%80%99s-attacks-vs-justice-admission-sc-partiality%E2%80%99For CGMA, impartiality is when you see things her way.
