Manila Times/Makati
President Benigno Aquino 3rd yesterday admitted consulting some people about a proposal to amend the constitution but made it clear he is not interested in seeking another term.
In an interview with Bombo Radyo, Aquino said he looks forward to stepping down in 2016.
“In one year and 10 months, I will be with (undersecretary) Rey Marfil and (assistant secretary) Jun Delantar. On July 1, the day after we step down from office, we will eat well with Kalayaan [freedom] written on our backs,” the president added.
Aquino was referring to communications undersecretary Renato Marfil and assistant executive secretary Reynaldo Delantar Jr.
He reiterated that his priority is to ensure the continuity of the reforms that he started.
“I am not a masochist. But at the same time, like I said, I will listen to whatever the bosses want,” Aquino said, referring to the people.
According to him, there are ordinary Filipinos who have told him to stay on.
In a recent visit to Cagayan, the president said someone from the crowd shouted, “One more term!.”
Aquino noted that it was a “good thing” that the other people did not join in on the “spontaneous” call.
The president recalled that when he went to a wake, a woman approached him and said, “please don’t leave the Philippines.
We still need you. There are still a lot of things to do. You should continue.”
He said he has to find his successor but the issue of whether this leader can continue his reforms still needs to be addressed.
“So can I tell them we have a limit. Our work is to find someone who will continue our reforms,” the president added.
“[They ask], ‘What’s the guarantee that what you did will continue? Perhaps it’ll be like we were on vacation for six years then we will go back to the old system,’” he said.
Aquino fuelled speculation on the possible lifting of term limits during an interview with TV5.
Under the 1987 constitution, the president is limited to a single term of six years.
The president explained that his interest in charter change is to impose limits on the “overreach” of the judiciary.
He said the supreme court has been meddling too much, making it difficult for him to run the government.
“There were other instances wherein, like in martial law, they didn’t want to meddle [in some cases] and now they want to meddle in everything,” the president added.“It has become excessive,” he said.
The president added that policies of the supreme court are problematic in that the tribunal seems unsure if these policies would be able to withstand legal scrutiny.
He cited the high court’s decision on the Disbursement Acceleration Programme (DAP), parts of which were declared unconstitutional.
The court also declared that authors and proponents of the DAP will be held accountable unless proven innocent by the proper tribunal.
The president said the supreme court may have presumed the executive department guilty when it should be the other way around.
“[In the] Bill of Rights, [it is] presumed innocent until proven guilty. [Here, it was changed], guilty until proven innocent… [The constitution seemed to have been changed here],” he added.
President Benigno Aquino 3rd wants nothing less than the conviction of all suspects, including lawmakers, who are involved in the P10bn pork barrel scam case, stressing that the success of his administration’s anti-corruption efforts will hinge on having the guilty punished for their crimes.
In an interview over Radyo Bombo, Aquino said the department of justice (DOJ) and the office of the ombudsman continue to work closely to make sure that the Sandiganbayan will mete out a guilty verdict against the respondents, who include senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jose Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr.
“The success of our anti-corruption efforts will not be based on just filing the case but by jailing them. That they are sentenced by the court and sent to jail. That is the basis of whether we are successful or not and we want to make sure that that will happen,” the president said.
He added that the DOJ and the ombudsman have been very careful in filing the appropriate charges that are backed by solid evidence.
“It is our obligation to file, to help in filing cases that will stand in court. If you will file a case with weak evidence, the person that you want prosecuted because you are convinced that he had done wrong, may be acquitted. If your evidence is weak and he is freed, you cannot do it again,” Aquino explained.
Enrile, Estrada and Revilla are detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame in Quezon City while alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles is detained in another facility.
The four, including their subordinates who are their co-respondents in the string of plunder, graft and malversation complaints filed in connection with the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel, were ordered arrested last month. The lawmakers were also subsequently suspended from their posts.
The president said he is convinced that the cases against the pork suspects are strong, adding that punishment for those who will be found guilty is part of his commitment to the people.
“If we filed shallow cases left and right and these cases meant nothing and eventually dismissed, I think the people will be mad and grow suspicious that we intended to acquit those responsible,” he also explained.
President Aquino
