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President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday described the country’s justice system as “a major battleground for reform” as he exhorted his Cabinet to step up the drive against corruption.

 

In his speech during the Cabinet workshop on anti-corruption strategies in Malacañang, Aquino justified his government’s push in the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

 

He said “the problem of judicial inefficiency and susceptibility to outside pressures, remains a serious concern.”

 

He said the government cannot sustainably fight corruption unless it reintroduces a sense of accountability which is, if one commits a crime, he or she will be punished.

 

“If certain elements are still able to prevent (former President) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for example, from being held accountable, then it makes a mockery of our anti-corruption efforts,” he said.

                              

“We want to send a stern yet simple message: justice evades no one. There are no exceptions in our campaign against corruption. It shouldn’t matter if you are a former President or in the lower ranks of public service. If you are dishonest, then you must be held to account,” he added.

 

In his speech, Aquino said he wants the judiciary to dispense justice blindly, as it should.

 

He said workshop on anti-corruption strategies aims to define his Cabinet’s tactical efforts even further.

                                     

“We have to do this because while those who want to preserve the old status quo may be down, they are not out; and they will not go away quietly,” he said.

 

He added: “They will try to blur the issues. They will attempt to roll back reform. And they will continue using the vast resources they have accumulated through the years to resist the people’s efforts to hold them accountable.”

 

The President said the plan aims not just to bring daylight into every nook and cranny in government, but also to open the halls of power to the people.

 

“We need to strengthen what is working, and to rectify what is not. And we need to make sure that those in the margins receive the tangible benefits of good governance, even as we remain relentless in our pursuit of reform,” he said. — RSJ, GMA News