(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) In an annual forum with journalists Sereno an appointee of Aquino said the pressure on the office of the chief justice is enormous on a daily basis.Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said Thursday that the Supreme Court meddles too much in political issues reiterating his openness to amend the constitution to clip the judiciary’s power.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno refused to respond to Aquino’s comments or his previous criticisms of the court’s June 30 ruling declaring his government’s enforcement of a major economic stimulus program partly unconstitutional.
She says she has enormous respect for Aquino and that the court will only respond to political questions or questions on the interpretation of the constitution in its rulings.
Aquino in an interview with Manila’s Bombo Radyo complained that the Supreme Court “is meddling in everything and their meddling is making it more difficult to run the government.”
“Perhaps judicial reach needs to be reviewed and limited” he added.
In an annual forum with journalists Sereno an appointee of Aquino said the pressure on the office of the chief justice is enormous on a daily basis.
“That’s why it is important for me to uphold the independence of my office on a daily basis” she said. “It is important that the people see the chief justice has the constitution first and foremost on her mind.”
She also expressed hopes that the people will see that “it is in their interest to promote a strong and independent judiciary” and that the citizens will have no redress if the judiciary is weak.
Sereno also appealed for more funding for judicial reforms complaining that the court receives a meager budget.
The Supreme Court is trying to speed up the disposition of cases in the country which has a history of long litigation. Sereno said electronic filing of cases creation of courts that do continuous trials and finishing small claims cases through specialized courts quickly are among the reforms being made. For more news from Khaleej Times follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes and on Twitter at khaleejtimes Follow khaleejtimes ->
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