Give PNoy administration time to get its bearing-Angara

By Jason de Asis

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, December 21, 2010-After reports of a rumored conflict between the executive and judiciary branches,  Senator Edgardo J. Angara, who is a former Executive Secretary and a fourth term Senator called on the public to give the Aquino administration time to get its bearings.

He said that it is important to give them enough time especially to members of the new administration for a better coordination among them, adding that he does not believe that there is bad blood between PNoy’s team and the Supreme Court.

Angara said that the recent decisions were based on sound legal arguments perhaps the executive order was made in haste, and wasn’t reviewed properly wherein the Supreme Court’s (SC) recently declared unconstitutional Executive Order No. 1, which creates the Truth Commission.

In his experience as an executive secretary, a president’s legal council also serves as the liaison between the executive and the judiciary. He said that they don't just troubleshoot and solve the legal problems that come up. They serve as legal coordinators with the Department of Justice.

“The public should give the new administration a bit more leeway to make their own decisions,” he said, stressing that the present administration is still new and he believes that they will toughen up especially under all this pressure.

Angara said that the president and his advisers are smart enough to avoid these kinds of lapses in the future. The bottom line is that we shouldn’t be too harsh on PNoy’s legal team. In his opinion, a little honing is needed, and they’ll do just fine. (Jason de Asis)