Palace vows Holy Week truce on CJ

In the spirit of the upcoming Holy Week, Malacañang vowed yesterday to observe what it called an “impeachment ceasefire” over the Senate trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“In the meantime, everybody can take a rest from the impeachment

trial until it resumes in May, so there will be time for the rest of the country, for the Filipinos, to focus on other matters,” Edwin Lacierda, spokesman for President Aquino, said.

“We’ve long declared a ceasefire (on the impeachment),” he added, referring to their self-imposed policy not to comment on the impeachment trial and leave it up to members of the House prosecution panel to issue statements.

“We in the government continue to work regardless of whether or not there is an impeachment trial going on,” he added.

“Well, everybody will certainly observe the Holy Week rituals. So people, at least Filipino Catholics, will be going to the annual Visita Iglesia on (Maundy) Thursday. So I think everybody will be on good behavior,” Lacierda said.

Aquino earlier expressed support for his spokespersons’ self-imposed gag rule on the impeachment of Corona so as not to give in to the ploy of the defense to divert attention from issues that the chief magistrate must directly answer.

“The impeachment process is also an educational process. The public gets educated on their rights, expectations. Now, the strategy of the defense lawyers is to talk about many things except for the issues at bar,” Aquino earlier told reporters in Baguio City.

He said they are thinking about what the public would gain from the impeachment so it is important not to lose focus of the real issues.