Bishop urges Aquino to stop lobbying for Corona’s conviction

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino should stop talking to senators in an effort to convince them to convict Chief Justice Renato Corona of charges levelled against him when he was impeached by the House of Representatives, a Catholic bishop said Thursday.

But another bishop said that was simply the reality of politics in the Philippines.

Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said it was “morally wrong” for the President to lobby with the senators to have the Chief Justice convicted in his impeachment trial by the Senate.

“The President should not be doing that. That’s morally wrong,” Bastes said in an interview broadcast on the Church-run Radio Veritas.

“It is wrong for him to influence the senators because the Senate decision in the case of Corona would then have the blessings and influence of the President. That is not right. He should allow the senators to decide without mixing it with politics,” he added.

Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said he was not surprised that the President was talking with senators about Corona’s fate since Aquino also did this with members of the House of Representatives, who impeached him on eight counts of violation of the Constitution and betrayal of the  people’s trust.

Cruz said it was in the nature of the country’s politics for the President to “dictate” even on co-equal branches like Congress and the judiciary.

“The President just wants the assurance that Malacañang will succeed in the end. This is not surprising because this is what politics is like in our country,” he said.