Palace answers SC chief’s blasts

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Friday answered Chief Justice Renato Corona’s tirades against the executive branch, saying it is the Supreme Court’s recall of its final decision on the termination of 1,400 flight attendants of Philippine Airlines in 1998 that caused a “credibility gap” for the tribunal.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the executive branch wasn’t undermining the independence of the judiciary as Corona indicated in a speech on Thursday.

“When is a final decision final? Doesn’t (having to change a decision) erode credibility?” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said the issue of the judiciary’s budget getting cut has long been settled with Congress’ plan to release the allocations for unfilled positions to the judicial branch and other fiscally autonomous groups, on the condition that they submit quarterly reports on the status of the funds.

With the issue of the budget already settled, Lacierda wondered why Corona would criticize the executive branch.

The Chief Justice also hit Congress in his speech during the annual convention of the Philippine Judges Association of Philippines in hotel in Makati on Thursday.

The Supreme Court on Monday recalled a “final” ruling calling for the reinstatement of 1,400 members of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines who were sacked following a strike at PAL in 1998.

The recall of the ruling came after Mendoza, PAL’s counsel and solicitor general during the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, wrote letters to the magistrates pointing out a purported technical defect, saying it should have been handled by the court’s Special Third Division, which had been hearing the case, and not the Second Division.

Fasap has protested the court’s turnabout after a 13-year legal battle, saying the Constitution provides that “no decision shall be rendered by any court without expressing therein clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which it is based.”

“It’s the Fasap case that caused the credibility gap …. It was the Supreme Court decision that stirred the hornet’s nest,” Lacierda said.