Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo swore in a new chief justice yesterday, whose appointment has been questioned by her apparent successor, sparking fears of a constitutional crisis.
The ceremony was covered only by journalists from state-run news agencies.
Senator Benigno Aquino, who is set to become the president-elect in an almost-complete vote count of the May 10 elections, has vowed not to take his oath of office before newly appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, who once served as Arroyo’s chief of staff and spokesman.
Aquino has said he preferred to take his oath before a village leader in Tarlac, his home province, when Arroyo’s term ends on June 3.
The Constitution does not say the oath must be taken before the chief justice and any official can administer it.
Arroyo’s action has brought the Supreme Court on a possible collision course with the incoming administration, Aquino’s political adviser Florencio Abad said.
“She’s [Arroyo] really pushing us to the brink of a crisis here,” Abad said.
Arroyo, who ran successfully for a seat in the House of Representatives, may have been appointing friendly justices to fend off possible legal action that Aquino has said his new administration would initiate against her, Abad said.
Aquino has said that he plans to form a commission to investigate allegations of massive corruption and vote-rigging involving Arroyo.
In a news conference, Corona said his appointment was legal and rejected perceptions that he would be biased in favor of Arroyo.
“Watch me,” Corona said. “Don’t judge me now.”
Asked if he would inhibit himself from any future case involving Arroyo, Corona refused to reply.
Aquino’s rejection of his appointment may or may not lead to a crisis, he said.
Presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said Arroyo’s actions were legal and he admonished Aquino, asking that he adhere to the Constitution by recognizing Corona’s authority.
Meanwhile, officials say at least six people, including Quezon Governor Rafael Nantes, have been killed when a helicopter crashed in a residential area south of Manila.
Police and military officials say four people on board, including Nantes, two of his security personnel and the pilot were charred beyond recognition. Two people on the ground were also killed and at least two houses were in flames at the crash site in Lucena city in Quezon, about 110km southeast of Manila.
Alfonso Cusi, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said the four-seater Robinson 44 helicopter crashed about two minutes after taking off from a school in Lucena en route to Manila.
PHISHING: The con might appear convincing, as the scam e-mails can coincide with genuine messages from Apple saying you have run out of storage For a while you have been getting messages from Apple saying “your iCloud storage is full.” They say you have exceeded your storage plan, so documents are no longer being backed up, and photos you take are not being uploaded. You have been resisting Apple’s efforts to get you to pay a minimum of ￡0.99 (US$1.33) a month for more storage, but it seems that you cannot keep putting off the inevitable: You have received an e-mail which says your iCloud account has been blocked, and your photos and videos would be deleted very soon. To keep them you need
The Israeli military has demolished entire villages as part of its invasion of south Lebanon, rigging homes with explosives and razing them to the ground in massive remote detonations. The Guardian reviewed three videos posted by the Israeli military and on social media, which showed Israel carrying out mass detonations in the villages of Taybeh, Naqoura and Deir Seryan along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese media has reported more mass detonations in other border villages, but satellite imagery was not readily available to verify these claims. The demolitions came after Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz called for the destruction of
A US YouTuber who caused outrage for filming himself kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves has been sentenced to six months in prison, a court in Seoul said yesterday. Johnny Somali, 25, gained notoriety several years ago for recording himself doing a series of provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan, and streaming them on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. South Korean authorities indicted Somali — whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael — in 2024 on public order violations and obstruction of business, and banned him from leaving the country. “The court has sentenced him to six months in
The death toll from a shooting in western Afghanistan rose to 11 on Saturday, after gunmen targeted civilians at a picnic spot in Herat, the provincial authority said. Bullet marks were visible on a wall of the Sayed Mohammad Agha Shia shrine, while bloodstains marked a blanket abandoned at the scene. “Eleven people have been recorded dead and eight others wounded from Friday’s incident, with the condition of two of the wounded reported as critical,” Herat’s information office said in a statement. The update raises a toll of seven killed provided on Friday by the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs
RSS