Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. criticized President Benigno Aquino III’s handling of the case of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, calling it “a bit of a mess.”
“Hindi maayos ang pag-handle dito. Hindi yata nila napag-isipan at napagplanuhan ng maigi kung ano ang kanilang gagawin,” Marcos said in an interview Tuesday.
The senator stressed that the administration should have filed the electoral sabotage case against Arroyo earlier given the existence of sufficient evidence to support charges.
Marcos, who has been consistently critical of Aquino, accused the president of getting “very personal” with the case.
‘Selective application’ of justice
“They want to prosecute Arroyo and they are doing everything,” he said. “They are very selective in their application of justice. They are very selective in their application of the use of the power of the executive and that selection is according to the political and partisan lines.”
The senator also hit the administration for not complying with the Supreme Court’s decisions.
“It is a dismay to see that orders of the Supreme Court are no longer respected or followed. This strikes at the very heart of our legal system and if the president and his alter ego, which is the secretaries of the different departments, choose not to follow the SC then that is a very serious blow to the separation and equality of the different departments of government,” Marcos said.
Extradition an option
The senator added that he does not support the administration’s decision to stop Arroyo from traveling abroad to seek medical treatment.
There are legal remedies to extradite Arroyo back to the country to face her cases in case she plans to escape, Marcos said.
“It seems to reflect the general difficulties that this administration has been facing. I know for sure that it could have been done in a much better way,” he said.
