Majority of polled readers say not yet time for Aquino-Corona reconciliation

MANILA, Philippines—After President Benigno Aquino III openly mocked Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in a nationally televised public forum, most of the respondents of the recently concluded INQUIRER.net poll says that it is still not yet the right time for the two personalities to come into a settlement.

To the question “Do you think it’s time for President Benigno Aquino III and Chief Justice Renato Corona to patch up their differences?” 1,170, or 62.17 percent, of the total 1,882 respondents answered no, while 712, or 37.83 percent, said yes to the week-long poll.

The President said in his speech at the opening of the first National Criminal Justice Summit that the court had seen nothing wrong with Corona’s appointment as Chief Justice during former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s time, a week after the May 2010 balloting, even as the Constitution, he said, stated that a President cannot make any appointment two months before the next presidential election.

Catholic bishops last week said the Church was willing to mediate between Aquino and Corona.—Jamie Marie Elona