Palace calls New York Times editorial ‘inappropriate’

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang called the “New York Times” editorial as “inappropriate” when it criticized President Benigno Aquino III for causing “political mischief.”

In an editorial dated August 28, the US-based newspaper criticized the President for going against the Supreme Court, an independent co-equal branch of government, when it ruled that some parts of his economic program, the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), were unconstitutional.

The editorial also criticized Aquino for being open to amending the term limits of the Constitution that would allow him to seek reelection, reminding the President that the Charter was crafted by his late mother and former President Corazon Aquino.

“Given this context, it is inappropriate to characterize this specific action of the President as ‘political mischief,’ or with infidelity to the principles espoused by his parents,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.

Coloma said the President remained “solidly committed to the transformation of Philippine society that is anchored upon good governance upon the righteous path (‘ang matuwid na daan’) and on the vitality of its democratic institutions”.

In an interview on local radio, Aquino said he was not after a second term but was willing to listen to what his constituents had to say.

“Am I the one who has this ambition to extend my term?… As I said when I first ran for office, ‘I’m no masochist,’” Aquino said in Filipino.

The Supreme Court’s 13-0 vote against the DAP has irked Aquino who said that if he wanted to amend the Charter, he would clip the powers of the high tribunal.

But the New York Times editorial had this to say:

“Mr. Aquino should uphold the Constitution of a fragile democracy if only out of respect for his father, who was assassinated in the struggle against Marcos, and for his mother, who died in 2009 after leading the ‘people power’ that triumphed over the excesses and abuses of the presidency,” the editorial said.

“In practical terms, that means he should stop butting heads with the court and gracefully step down when his term is up.”

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