Aquino's war on corruption stirs fierce debate
by Jason Gutierrez

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has won praise for targeting some of the country's most powerful figures in his war on corruption, but his bruising tactics are also causing an increasing uproar.
Aquino's campaign has moved into top gear in November, when he used the force of his office to arrest his predecessor Gloria Arroyo, then engineered the unprecedented impeachment of the country's top judge for allegedly protecting her.
Aquino, the son of democracy heroes, won presidential elections in a landslide in 2010 on a vow to end the pervasive culture of corruption that is one of the key reasons for the Philippines' crushing poverty.
He has said that Arroyo, who ruled the country for nearly a decade before him, was one of the worst culprits -- a view widely held by the public -- and vowed to make her his top priority in his anti-graft campaign.
Aquino has also sacked some top officials at state-controlled corporations who were appointed during Arroyo's time, and forced the resignation of the head graft prosecutor, who was also seen as sympathetic to the former president.
But while the president continues to enjoy record support in public opinion polls, there is growing concern that he is employing unnecessary and legally questionable bully tactics to achieve his goals.
“While we support the reform agenda of the president, its implementation must respect and not subvert the constitutional allocation of power,” Roan Libarios, president of the 50,000-strong Integrated Bar of the Philippines, told AFP.
“This is sending a chilling effect. This sends a signal to judges that if the president does not like your ruling, they can make life difficult for you, or worse (you may) be impeached and removed.”
With stunning speed, Aquino marshalled his allies in Congress to impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
The impeachment complaint, signed by two-thirds of lawmakers in just a few hours last Dec. 12, accused Corona of betraying public trust and violating the constitution in rulings that favored Arroyo, as well as personal corrupt acts.
The dramatic turn of events came after Corona's office, the highest arbiter of the law in the land, last November overturned a travel ban on Arroyo that the government had put in place as it prepared charges against her.
Arroyo had said she needed to travel abroad for medical reasons, but the government feared she intended to flee to escape prosecution.
Aquino controversially ignored the Supreme Court's ruling and ordered that Arroyo remain in the country.
She was shortly afterwards charged with rigging the 2007 senatorial elections and is now detained at a military hospital while awaiting trial.
Aquino then launched a blistering shame campaign against Corona, whom he called an “agent” appointed by Arroyo to the Supreme Court for the single purpose of ensuring she did not end up behind bars.
The impeachment case will now go to trial in the Senate, which will determine whether Corona must step down.
Arroyo appointed Corona to his post hours before she stepped down in 2010, a move Aquino said violated a constitutional ban on “midnight appointments” by outgoing leaders.
But Libarios argued that Aquino may have brought the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis, because by attacking the integrity of the country's highest judge, he had also weakened the entire judicial institution.
“Of the three branches of government, the judiciary is the weakest. It does not have the powerful sword of the president, or the awesome purse of congress,” Libarios said.
Libarios' concern was shared by hundreds of lawyers and judges who staged a walkout on Dec. 14 to cheer Corona as he delivered a speech to accuse Aquino of fomenting a “dictatorship.”
Some media commentators normally supportive of the president have also voiced concern about whether he is trampling on the justice system in his determination to nail Arroyo.
Political opponents have also accused him of a witch-hunt against his predecessor.
But Harry Roque, a constitutional law professor at the University of the Philippines, said he believed Aquino had not broken any laws and pointed out that he still had the overwhelming support of the public.
“His anti-corruption efforts are now gaining traction. He should have actually done this from day one, but it's better late than never,” Roque told AFP.
“Constitutional processes are there to promote accountability among impeachable public officers, and that is what the president has followed.”
Roque’s comments were shared by Marites Dañguilan Vitug, a veteran journalist who removed the veil of secrecy covering the high court, who said the impeachment of Corona may spur reforms in the judiciary.
Vitug, author of Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court, said in a TV interview that she doesn't believe that the impeachment is undermining the judiciary.
“I hope after this we'll choose to go with integrity, reform,” said Vitug.
She said she believes that Aquino is doing the right thing by implementing needed reforms in government. “What Aquino is doing now is like course correction, he's steering our ship,” she said. “There will be shocks, there will be upheavals but I hope after this it stabilizes and hopefully go back to basics -- appointment process -- and really choose people with integrity and reforms.”
Vitug added that Corona's impeachment may further shed light on how the high court works behind closed doors. The Supreme Court justices, like any government official, must be held accountable for their acts, she said.
“They have to be accountable in terms of finances -- even if they're in pedestal and robes. It's a very demanding position,” Vitug said. “When (Supreme Court justices) sit there, they should be there because of merit. They shouldn't owe anyone.”
And crucially in a country long plagued by coup attempts and “people power” marches, the military has remained behind Aquino while there have been no street protests against him.
(Agence France-Presse)