President Aquino

Lawyers began their defence in the corruption trial of the Philippines’ top judge yesterday, a case which President Benigno Aquino sees as key to fighting graft and attracting investors.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona has vowed to keep his job in a court action which could weaken Aquino if it does not produce a conviction.
Corona, appointed by Aquino’s predecessor Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2010, is charged with showing bias in favour of Arroyo, and other corrupt practices.
Sixteen votes from the 24-member Senate of elected lawmakers who are sitting as judges are needed to remove Corona from office. Aquino can count on 14 votes so far.
“If Corona is found not guilty, it will be a poor reflection on Aquino’s leadership and he will become vulnerable to attacks,” said Benito Lim, political science professor at Ateneo de Manila University.
Aquino will risk losing popularity if he is seen to be far tougher on Arroyo appointees than on his own picks, said Pacific Strategies and Assessments, a security consultancy firm.
“If President Aquino continues this selective approach to fighting corruption, he jeopardises legitimate prosecution of major Arroyo administration wrongdoing and being labelled by a growing percentage of the Philippines populace as simply vindictive,” it said in a recent report.
Aquino has remained immensely popular with ratings over 70% nearly two years after a landslide election victory. His popularity has helped draw investor interest to the Philippines
Its stock market, the best performer in Asia last year, is up nearly 13% this year as foreign inflows into stocks rose more than threefold in the first six weeks of 2012 to $351mn, overtaking net buying for all of 2009.
Still, Aquino’s government continues to grapple with graft, a perennial problem in the Philippines.
Were Corona to be forced out, it would give Aquino a stronger hand in his efforts to attract investors by being able to claim the judicial system has been purged of corruption.
“It would help change public perception of the credibility of our courts,” said Earl Parreno, an analyst with think-tank the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms.
“A more credible court means less flip-flopping in decisions affecting businesses.”
Aquino’s spokeswoman, Abigail Valte, told reporters the Aquino camp is confident the senators will find Corona guilty, and he will be removed from his job. Reuters