Newly appointed Chief Justice Renato Corona on Tuesday acknowledged the rift between him and presidential frontrunner Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III but said this would actually be good for democracy in the Philippines. “It's not good in a democratic system to have a Chief Justice who is close to the President since the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court would be the ones to judge the official actuations of the President,” Corona said in a radio interview. His view was echoed by Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who supported Aquino during the campaign. Speaking at a press conference, Escudero said the gap between Aquino and Corona would be good for the check and balance between the judiciary and the executive. “There will be a more active check and balance system between the two branches of government, the judiciary and executive,” Escudero said. At the same time Escudero said there is nothing wrong with Aquino's decision not to take his oath before Corona. Corona's appointment by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been criticized by some sectors who argued that this was in violation of the ban on appointments during an election campaign period. “(The fact) that they (Aquino and Corona) are not the best of friends might be good for the system. If the president controls the chief justice, would you like that? If he also controls the legislative, and no one will oppose, that's not right either,” Escudero said. The senator said he believes that the House of Representatives will be friendly to Aquino, even if majority of the congressmen are not from Aquino's Liberal Party. He said historically congressmen regardless of their political affiliation gravitate towards the new president while the Senate is usually controlled by the opposition. For his part, Corona advised Aquino not to view him and the Supreme Court justices as his enemies simply because they were all appointed by Arroyo. He promised that while he is Chief Justice, the Supreme Court will be fair and just and will not favor anyone including Arroyo who appointed him to the Philippines' highest judicial post. He said while he and Aquino “started off on the wrong foot,” he would hold nothing against apparent president-elect if he finally chooses to be sworn into office by a village official instead of him. Aquino earlier said he will not recognize any Chief Justice appointed by Arroyo, adding that he would rather take his oath of office before a village official. Critics earlier expressed concern that the Supreme Court might have been compromised after it was packed with Arroyo appointees. They also noted that Corona had voted in favor of Arroyo on key decisions of the Supreme Court. Corona served as Arroyo's chief of staff, spokesman and acting executive secretary in 2001. Before being appointed to the SC in 2002, Corona never handled a judicial post. Corona said he is fully aware of the criticisms against him, but vowed that he would do his best to serve the people. He said he considers as a challenge criticisms that a Supreme Court under him would be beholden to Arroyo. – SG During the radio interview, Corona also noted that he and Aquino both graduated from Ateneo de Manila University and that they had met several times in the past. “We both came from the same school. Hopefully, our minds work the same way,” he said.
