Palace to Binay: Aquino not a dictator

“The impeachment and conviction of former Chief Justice Renato Corona were in accordance with the Constitution,” Malacañang said a day after Vice President Jejomar Binay accused President Benigno Aquino III of being a dictator.

Binay said he advised Aquino not to pursue the case against Corona because that would allow him to take hold of the judiciary, in addition to the executive branch of government.

“Yung Congress hawak mo pa. ‘Pagka ginalaw mo judiciary, si Justice Corona, eh diktador ka na niyan. Takot na sa’yo ang lahat. Nangyari nga, talagang natakot na ang mga hukom (You have taken hold of Congress. If you involve yourself in the judiciary, through Justice Corona, you will known as a dictator. Everyone will be afraid of you. And that’s what happened, the justices are now afraid),” the Vice President said over dzRH.

But Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the accusation was false.

“Umani ng puri ang Senado bilang impeachment court dahil naging patas ang pagdinig (The Senate was praised for being fair during the hearings of the impeachment court),” he said.

Coloma aded that it was Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, one of Binay’s allies, who headed the trial.

Binay has been hitting the administration since he broke ties with Aquino by resigning from the Cabinet.

He has called the government insensitive and inept. Malacañang, on the other hand, has pointed out that Binay has not proposed solutions, to the problems he has blamed on the Aquino government, while he was in the Cabinet.