The conflict between the Philippines' incoming and outgoing presidents intensified Thursday as the apparent President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III vowed to use the “enormous powers” of his government in waiting to probe all the scandals involving outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. On the other hand, Arroyo's top aides warned Aquino that he could face impeachment if he fails to recognize Arroyo's appointment of Renato Corona as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Already at loggerheads even before Monday's elections, the two leaders appeared to have raised their level of animosity to each other six weeks before Arroyo transfers power to Aquino. Aquino reignited their feud Tuesday when he renewed his pledge to have Arroyo investigated over various scandals that have hounded her administration, including the alleged vote-rigging operation in the 2004 presidential elections where she won a close fight with opposition candidate actor Fernando Poe Jr. Arroyo heightened the conflict further Wednesday when she appointed Corona, once her trusted legal counsel, to the highest judicial post. Although Aquino has yet to be officially proclaimed the winner of Monday's presidential election, he has piled such a huge lead that most of his rivals have already conceded defeat to him. Arroyo's appointment of Corona drew suspicions that Arroyo hopes her allies in the Supreme Court will protect her in any investigation that the Aquino could launch against her. Aquino promptly called on Arroyo to recall her appointment, saying she should respect his right to choose the next chief justice when he takes office. The Philippine Bar Association, a lawyer's group, also assailed the appointment of Corona and threatened to have him impeached. However, Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo warned that Aquino could face impeachment if he fails to recognize the appointment of the new Chief Justice. “Any newly elected president is bound to respect the rule of law and uphold the Constitution. Any violation of that is an impeachable offense,” Saludo said. “If a person has been duly appointed under the law by a sitting president, I cannot see how legally you cannot recognize the person. Now if he were appointed unlawfully then there's no appointment, the person is never appointed,” he said. During the campaign period, Aquino had said that he would not recognize a chief justice appointed by Arroyo. However, Saludo said Aquino would face a quandary since the new chief justice would be the one to administer his oath of office. Saludo also said it is unlikely for Arroyo to reverse her decision to appoint Corona. He said Corona underwent vetting by the Judicial and Bar Council, where opposition Senator Francis Escudero is a member. Escudero also warned that the new president could spark a constitutional crisis if he does not recognize Corona's appointment. He said ousting Corona was next to impossible and can only be done through an impeachment process.
