Palace aide sees no need to revamp legal team over ARMM polls setback

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang’s sees no reason to revamp the Palace’s legal team despite the recent setback at the Supreme Court, which slapped a temporary restraining order against a law Aquino had pushed for synchronizing elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with the 2013 national elections.

Deputy Palace spokesperson Abigail Valte made the statement in reaction to lawyer Harry Roque that the ARMM setback happened because the members of the legal team didn’t consult Solicitor-General Jose Anselmo Cadiz.

“Well, that’s not true. The legal team of the President and even Solicitor-General Cadiz can say that whenever there are big issues like this, they talk and they have meetings to talk about what to do,” Valte said on radio.

“That’s why, if you notice, whenever there issues like this, we really say that we will wait for the results of the meeting,” she added.

Such meetings are usually with Cadiz, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, chief presidential legal counsel Eduardo De Mesa and Justice Secretary Leila De Lima.

Asked if the President saw any reason to revamp his legal team, Valte said, “We think there’s none and of course, with President Aquino being the appointing authority, everybody serves at the pleasure of the President.”

“The President would be the one who can say if he doesn’t like how we do our job,” Valte said.