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The country’s top magistrate turned down on Monday
a proposal to head a caretaker government should President Gloria
Arroyo
and her administration heed calls for her to resign.
Meanwhile, former Gov. Luis
“Chavit” Singson of Ilocos Sur is set to call a press conference
today to call on President Arroyo to resign, and the United
Opposition is expected to file a new impeachment complaint against
the President.
In a statement read by spokesman
Midas Marquez, Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno said he is
not interested in politics, and would rather remain in the judiciary
to safeguard its integrity and independence. He nonetheless thanked
the Kilusang Makabansang Ekonomiya (KME), which made the offer,
for the trust shown to him.
Puno said he does not want the
judiciary to get involved in politics, and the Court should be free
from any political influence since there are several cases that are
political in nature that are now pending with them.
KME Chairman Jaime Regalario said
a caretaker government should be put into place and formulate an
interim Constitution, and pave the way for electoral reforms. The
group was actually concerned on the calls for Mrs. Arroyo’s
resignation while bypassing her constitutional successors:
Vice-President Noli de Castro, Senate President Manuel Villar Jr.
and House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.
KME is a private, multisectorial
coalition with many members from religious groups and the academe.
Renewed calls to resign
Reliable sources told The Manila
Times that Singson will call a press conference today to ask the
President to resign.
The United Opposition also told
ANC it will file a new impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo,
who is now facing sharp criticism for her granting pardon to former
President Joseph Estrada, and allegations that her husband, Jose
Miguel Arroyo, is also behind the brokering of a $330-million
broadband contract with China’s ZTE Corp.
It was Singson who exposed that
Estrada was receiving money from jueteng (an illegal numbers game)
operations. That led to the filing of an impeachment complaint
against the former president. Estrada’s ouster through a
people’s uprising in early 2001 led to Mrs. Arroyo’s rise to
Malacañang. She was vice-president and Social Welfare secretary
during Estrada’s presidency.
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