INTERVIEW WITH COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY HERMINIO ‘SONNY’ COLOMA ANC /HEADSTART BY CAROLINE HOWARD July 24, 2014 (8:32- 8:39AM) CAROLINE: Good morning, Secretary. SEC. COLOMA: Good morning, Caroline. CAROLINE: May we get your opinion initially on how the Palace is taking the series of impeachment complaints against the President. There will be third one endorsed by lawmakers later today? SEC. COLOMA: We acknowledge that the impeachment is part of our democratic processes and we respect the right of the House of Representatives to receive such complaints and to act on them, Caroline. CAROLINE: But how confident is the President and Malacañang, Sir, that President Aquino will overcome these challenges. And isn’t it, as we speak, in a way affecting his governance? SEC. COLOMA: It is not affecting his focus on the reform programs that are being resolutely implemented by the administration. We are aware that our Representatives in the House are directly elected by their constituents and some of them are representing party list groups. And we trust that they will decide on the merits of these complaints and keeping in mind the best interest of the Filipino people. CAROLINE: And what if they don’t, Sir. Considering that the first time DAP went through to the Supreme Court it was ruled as unconstitutional? SEC. COLOMA: Well, that is our observation regarding these complaints, Caroline. The issues that were raised in the first two complaints are really legal issues that are still under review by the Supreme Court and even the Court itself said that its decision is not yet final and executory and that is why we are still going to the process of seeking a review of the legal issues. But since the House is empowered to accept impeachment complaints, then we will just leave it to the best judgment of the member of the House. CAROLINE: Some observers may see, Sir, that the President seems to have been going on a defensive mode in practically every public forum. How does the Palace react to this? SEC. COLOMA: The President is accountable to his “Bosses,” the Filipino people, and he is simply explaining to them the basic issues, because they have a lot at stake in terms of the ability of the Chief Executive to execute and implement programs for their welfare and benefits. CAROLINE: But the tack has been one of the practically a face-off with the Supreme Court, Sir. The latest of which, the Palace has, in fact argue that the SC itself has practiced a cross-border transfer of funds? SEC. COLOMA: This discussion is part of a healthy debate on the fine-tuning of the concept of separation of powers, which is one of the basic principles of our Constitution. And we believed that extensive discussions on this issue will help enlighten our people and will redound to the long term benefit of the country, Caroline. CAROLINE: Separation of powers as that might be, the latest impeachment complaint this afternoon, in fact, has to do with partly having excluded lawmakers from the EDCA. That is the grounds for the filing of the third impeachment complaint. You have the same opinion on this impeachment complaint, Sir? And perhaps a reaction from you on that ground some lawmakers are choosing to back-up now. SEC. COLOMA: The EDCA was the product of a period of consultation and negotiation between two countries that are strategic partners in promoting regional stability. And we have a long standing agreement with the United States which is the Mutual Defense Treaty that is more than five decades old. This was buttressed by the Visiting Forces Agreement and it is our position that the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement simply builds upon the Basic Strategic Partnership between the two countries, which in the light of changing realities is a very important aspect of regional stability in the Asia-Pacific Region. CAROLINE: When it comes to numbers, sorry Sir, I mean, as of yesterday the Integrated Bar of the Philippines rather had given this view that there is enough ground to impeach the President. Your reactions? SEC. COLOMA: I would like to review their statement. It would not be appropriate for me to make a commentary without fully understanding the context of their position, Caroline. CAROLINE: Then perhaps, may we ask you, perhaps a final question: In terms of a matters of numbers playing out now in Congress, how sound do you feel is the President’s congressional support, still? SEC. COLOMA: Ultimately this may go down to a question of numbers. But in our view, numbers is not the important consideration here. It should be reason, truth and the welfare of the Filipino people that should be the guiding principles in deciding this complaint. CAROLINE: But as a final question again, Sir, you mentioned the public view, incidentally support has also been in a way gaining and questions have been abounding the President performance. In fact, his trust ratings have somehow slipped and efforts are also going to be underway come SONA, Monday, there will be protest in the streets. What should we expect from Malacañang? SEC. COLOMA: If we view the latest public opinion survey results, Caroline, this evidence that the President continues to enjoy the support and the trust of majority of the Filipinos and comparing it with the performance and trust ratings of his predecessors, it is still significantly higher. We understand that in a democracy there will be differences of opinion among various sectors and we look at this as a healthy development. In our own tracking we have seen that of late, the sentiment supporting the President as gained ground considerably and he continues to enjoy solid support from our people. So we continue to just focus on the reforms that need to be pursued, so that the President is able to fulfill his social contract with the Filipino people. CAROLINE: But if the voice of the people is to be based as well, Sir, this buildup of the protest voice, as well as this impeachment complaints seem to be suggesting an entirely different picture? SEC. COLOMA: It is not just loudness or press releases that count, Caroline. We are making a more comprehensive tracking of public sentiment and we believe that essentially the people continue to stand solidly behind the President. CAROLINE: On that note then, thank you very much Secretary Coloma for taking our call. SEC. COLOMA: Thank you, Caroline and my greetings to Congressmen Tiñio and Ridon.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 07:10:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015