Aquino vows first case vs. Arroyo by November
by Joyce Pangco Pañares and Maricel Cruz
But the presidential spokesman admits the administration has yet to find a single piece of evidence linking the former President to wrongdoing
TOKYO (via PLDT)—President Benigno Aquino III said Tuesday night the government would file its first corruption case against his predecessor, now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, in November, after his spokesman admitted they had yet to find a single piece of evidence linking her to wrongdoing.
“We will be filing one case after the other. We will start in November,” Mr. Aquino told reporters.
He said he intended to go after the principal player in the reported anomalous transactions entered into by the Arroyo administration to set an example.
“It is important to go after the very head—the one who committed the most [mistakes] clearly should be punished to set an example so that others will be afraid to do the same thing,” Mr. Aquino said.
He said the plunder cases against Mrs. Arroyo filed by various private complainants could also be consolidated to ensure an air-tight case.
He said his campaign against his predecessor was not a matter of letting bygones be bygones.
“The campaign now is to let bygones be bygones. I say, ‘Excuse me … I am a Catholic. If you commit a mistake, confession is not enough. There has to be penance because there was injury to the community.”
Earlier, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, who heads the Palace good governance cluster, said Mr. Aquino was aware that his credibility hinged on his administration’s success in ensuring convictions.
The administration earlier suffered a setback after Mr. Aquino’s first act in office, the creation of the Truth Commission to investigate the charges of corruption against the officials of the Arroyo administration, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Mr. Aquino’s remarks seemed to clash with a statement by his spokesman, Edwin Lacierda, earlier this week that the administration had yet to find a single piece of evidence to prove wrongdoing by the former President.
What the administration had so far, he said, were people who were willing to share information on the anomalies.
Asked about the contradiction between the President’s announcement and his admission, Lacierda said the administration was “building up” the cases against Mrs. Arroyo.
“Things are moving on. We are uncovering evidence. We are continuing to search for evidence,” he said.
Earlier, the Aquino administration said it would file at least two major corruption complaints against the former President before the year ended.
The President said he wanted the corrupt officials from the past administration convicted by 2012.
“With a little cooperation from the Judiciary, we may be able to jail those people by next year,” he said.
“We will make those who committed sins responsible so they would not be emulated.”
Source:
Manila Standard Today -- Aquino vows first case vs. Arroyo by November -- 2011/september/29