'UNDERDOG'
[PHOTO COURTESY OF ABS-CBN -
Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas; Justice Serafin Cuevas,
now 83 years old, he served as associate justice of the Supreme Court during the
Marcos regime from June 1984 to April 1986. Prior to his appointment to the SC,
he was a justice in the Court of Appeals, judge in the Court of First Instance,
and fiscal in Manila. A product of the University of the Philippines College of
Law, he had four decades of teaching experience not only in the same institution
but in other universities as well. He was also one of the lead defense counsels
of deposed President Joseph Estrada during his impeachment trial in
2000.]
MANILA, JANUARY 16, 2012 (INQUIRER)
By Christian V. Esguerra - The job would be easier if it were done in a regular
court of law.
The lawyers assembled to defend Chief Justice Renato Corona at his
impeachment trial that starts Monday are a powerhouse of seasoned litigators,
law professors and bar reviewers, with more than three centuries of legal
experience added together.
But the team led by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Serafin
Cuevas considers itself "definitely" an underdog.
From a purely legal perspective, Corona's lawyers may be considered a
client's dream team.
"This is an uphill battle in light of the very powerful personalities we are
up against," Ramon Esguerra, one of the lawyers who will argue for
Corona, told the Inquirer in a phone interview.
"So we don't look at the case only on the basis of what is going to be tried
before the Senate. We look beyond, and we know that as far as resources [are
concerned], we give that to the [prosecution] panel and those behind it," said
Esguerra (no relation to this reporter).
[PHOTO - Profile of Board Member and Corporate Secretary
of the Kaiser International Health Group, Atty. Tranquil Gervacio S. Salvador
III. He was the former Dean of the Law School of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasay
(PLP), reviewer and professor of law in Ateneo, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
(PLM), Far Eastern University (FEU), FEU-La Salle and San Sebastian College
(SSC), University of the East (UE), Juris Law Center, University Belt
Consortium, Legal Advantage, and adviser to the Far Eastern University Law
Review (1999-2003), PLM Law Student Council and PLM-Alternative Lawyering Center
(2000-2004). Member of the University of the Philippines' Law Center, Remedial
Law Committee that deliberated and suggested Answers to the 2007 and 2009
Remedial Law Bar Questions.
Tranquil Salvador III, another member of the defense team, rejected
the idea that his camp could easily overwhelm the prosecutors from the House of
Representatives, who are said to be hobbled by the general lack of legal
experience. (One government lawyer closely observing the case suggested that the
prosecutors led by Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. would be "eaten alive.")
"No, it's unfair to say that," Salvador said in a separate phone interview.
"I don't underestimate anybody. This is an entirely different ball game and
there is no substitute for preparation."
Added Esguerra: "You always assume that your opponent is good."
'Volunteer work'
Corona's lawyers are aware that the House prosecutors and their media
handlers may portray them as highly paid legal experts out to bully their
inexperienced opponents.
"In the first place, we are not highly paid. We are not even paid to do this.
This is volunteer work," Esguerra said.
"We will not grandstand [at the Senate impeachment court]," he said. "The
younger ones in the team have [also] been advised not to do that. We will remain
respectful. We will remain deferential. We will be patient in protecting the
interest of the Chief Justice. There is no other way."
Prep on 2 fronts
The defense team is making preparations on two fronts—the Senate impeachment
court and the larger court of public opinion.
Former Department of Justice undersecretary Ramon Esguerra was tapped
to help retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. when he faced an impeachment
complaint in 2003. He is managing partner in Esguerra & Blanco Law Offices
and is also teaching criminal and remedial laws at the UP College of Law where
he also graduated in 1979.
Esguerra admitted that the impeachment trial posed serious challenges in that
the decision on whether Corona should be convicted would not depend solely on
evidence and on his being proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
"It's simple," he said, pointing out that the eight articles of impeachment
would be taken as a whole if they were to be argued in a regular court. "But
it's more difficult to deal with public perception."
Salvador added in Filipino: "In [a regular] court, we would not be
encountering a lot of difficulties because the judge will understand everything.
But there's also the court of public opinion, and that's the difficulty in this
case."
Part of the team's preparations is how to "properly deliver the message" both
to the senator-judges and to the public at large, who will be observing the
proceedings in various media platforms, including social media.
"[The public] should also understand the proceedings, the evidence, the
presentations," Salvador said.
Lack of 'media darling'
One challenge in this regard could be the lack of a so-called "media
darling" in the mold of say, Romulo Macalintal, or Leila de Lima, in the defense
team. The members are all accomplished and respected men of the law, but in an
arena where popularity is a major factor, they have some serious work to do.
Esguerra said the defense team was confronted by a combination of Corona's
low trust rating (per the recent Social Weather Stations survey), President
Aquino's immense popularity, and a supposed public perception that the Chief
Justice was guilty of the charges (betrayal of public trust and culpable
violation of the Constitution).
The President is seen as the prime mover of Corona's impeachment,
which was prepared and swiftly approved on the initiative of the ruling Liberal
Party in a matter of hours on Dec. 12.
"Even now, the Chief Justice has been judged to be guilty by the public,"
Esguerra said, heaping blame on the release in the media of documents and
pictures concerning Corona's alleged properties before the trial could begin.
Salvador lamented that reports on the purported properties had created the
impression that Corona was corrupt. (Corona himself has claimed that he owned
only five houses—not 45, as alleged by Tupas—and acquired most of them in the
course of his legal practice. He said the family residence in Xavierville
Subdivision was inherited from his parents.)
"Many people just read the headlines and already make a judgment," Salvador
said. "They don't see the actual pleadings. They don't really understand the
procedures and what's going on. We have to make them understand."
Who's who
Esguerra said he and his colleagues were driven by the resolve to
"respect, obey and defend the Constitution."
"You include the historical significance of the trial, your participation in
a big case like this from a professional standpoint. But that, to me, is
parochial. I have to look at the bigger picture—the rule of law is very, very
critical here," he said.
The team includes the likes of Eduardo de los Angeles, former dean of
Ateneo Law School, and Jacinto Jimenez, known in legal circles as "a
repository of knowledge" and "a genius gifted with a photographic memory" who
"knows every Supreme Court decision like the back of his hand."
Like Salvador, De los Angeles and Jimenez are partners at top law firm Romulo
Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles. Along with Cuevas, they are
seen as the team's top strategists.
Of the 30 lawyers who volunteered to defend Corona, at least three have
impeachment experience: Cuevas defended former President Joseph Estrada during
his aborted trial in 2001, De los Angeles was with the prosecution team then,
and Esguerra was tapped to help then Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. when he
faced an impeachment complaint in 2003.
German Lichauco II and Dennis Manalo of Siguion Reyna
Montecillo & Ongsiako, the leading law firm in the country, are also part of
the defense team.
Manalo is described by the firm as concentrating on "criminal and labor
litigation [with] substantial experience in trial work and appellate practice."
A partner of the firm, Lichauco is described as "an intracorporate dispute
litigator whose expertise includes hostile corporate takeover and control." He
also "handles a wide array of cases that include heinous crimes, medical
malpractice, construction and commercial arbitration, personal injuries and
business tort or contractual controversies."
Corona's lawyers also include Jose Roy III, another product of Ateneo
Law School and former dean of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila's Law School, and
Joel Bodegon, Karen Jimeno, Noel Lazaro, and Rico Paolo Quicho.
Victory expected
Assignments have been farmed out, with each lawyer designated to a particular
article of impeachment.
And after all is said and done, Corona's camp is necessarily expecting
victory.
"You don't have control of everything," Esguerra said. "You really have to
settle down and be calm about it. If you have done everything humanly possible,
where else do you go? You lift it all up to God."
Besides, he said, "the judgment that people give against you is not
necessarily the judgment of history or of God."
FROM THE PHILSTAR
Senate ready for trial By Christina Mendez (The
Philippine Star) Updated January 16, 2012 12:02 AM
[PHOTO - Photo shows the session hall of the Senate, where the
impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona begins today. Edd Gumban]
MANILA, Philippines - With certain quarters saying the Senate itself will be
on trial, senators assured the public yesterday that the chamber is prepared for
the unprecedented task of convening as an impeachment court to try Chief Justice
Renato Corona.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said
everything is ready for the trial which opens today.
It is the first time that the nation's chief magistrate will be tried by an
impeachment court. Corona is accused of culpable violation of the Constitution,
betrayal of public trust, and graft and corruption.
The Senate sergeant-at-arms will implement stringent security measures,
assisted by members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), within the vicinity
of the GSIS offices where the Senate is located in Pasay City.
About 1,000 local and foreign media personnel have been given ID
accreditation cards to cover the trial, but only 40 media personnel can enter
the session hall. The rest can watch the proceedings, which will be telecast
live, in any of the three rooms provided for journalists.
Members of the prosecution panel were assigned the Padilla Room, which was
divided into three sections to accommodate their House staff and private
lawyers.
The defense team, on the other hand, was assigned to the Tañada room, located
just across the Padilla Room.
The impeachment proceedings will officially start at 2 p.m. after the
senators conduct their legislative session at 9 a.m.
They will try to finish the congressional session early to pave way for the
all-senators' caucus by 11:30 a.m. to discuss issues related to the impeachment
proceedings, Sotto said.
Enrile is the presiding officer of the trial.
Senators Gregorio Honasan and Franklin Drilon will assist Sotto, majority
leader of the impeachment court.
"The impeachment court will always act as one. The SP (Senate President)
rules. If the SP ruling is not in conformity of the Senate, we can move to halt…
the majority will always prevail," Sotto said.
Enrile earlier explained the motions pending before the body will be
discussed before the prosecution and defense are asked to give their opening
statements.
"All motions we will have to discuss tomorrow (today) at the start, before we
give the floor to the prosecution and the defense," Sotto said.
The Corona camp had so far filed four manifestations before the impeachment
court including a motion for preliminary hearing.
Also pending is an urgent motion filed by a private lawyer citing House
prosecutors in contempt of court.
The House prosecutors have filed a motion to disregard Corona's move to
conduct preliminary hearing; and another motion seeking to subpoena Corona's
wife, Cristina and their three children as well as a brother-in-law over their
alleged 40 real properties.
Enrile said he would discuss with his colleagues the move of Corona's camp to
dismiss his complaint or to render an acquittal since the articles of
impeachment did not bear the constitutional requirement of verification. The
House panel has disputed Corona's motion.
"So, I'll have to take that up with the members of the Senate because the
wording of the Constitution is that in case the verified complaint or resolution
of impeachment is filed by one-third of all members of the House, then the
verified complaint shall become the Articles of Impeachment and trial in the
Senate shall forthwith proceed," Enrile said.
Poker faced
To maintain the integrity of the Senate, Sotto reminded his colleagues that
they are under oath of impartiality as senator-judges.
"Do your best to become politically neutral first. I know every senator has
political inclination, that's fine. But as impeachment-judge, you should not
show it since you took oath and vowed to be impartial," Sotto said.
"They say that this is a political exercise. But if you decide you should not
be politically inclined," he added.
The House prosecutors need the votes of 16 senators to ensure a conviction of
Corona, even in just one of the eight articles of impeachment.
For every article, Corona needs an acquittal coming from at least eight
senators. Acquittal is rendered if the chief magistrate gets acquitted in all
eight articles.
A guilty verdict in any of the articles would sustain Corona's impeachment.
Minority Leader Alan Cayetano also stressed the importance of impartiality of
the Senate as an impeachment court.
"If it (the Senate as an impeachment court) can have an impartial hearing
then it will show that the Constitution works and senators can go beyond
politics," Cayetano said.
"I think the Senate will be as much on trial as the judiciary in proving its
impartiality as an institution," he said.
Honasan said the trial "is a painful experience for our country. We need this
to get over with, the sooner, the better."
'Impeachment watch'
Malacañang yesterday urged the public to monitor today's historic impeachment
trial and learn from the proceedings about the issues surrounding the chief
magistrate.
"We exhort everybody to monitor, to watch, to listen, to learn, and to make
your own judgment. Let's listen to both sides on what evidence will be
presented," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
Even if it will be the senator-judges who will make the final judgment in the
end, Valte said it would always be better for everyone to be well informed and
apprised of developments.
As for President Aquino watching the trial, Valte said it would be business
as usual for the Chief Executive since he would be having a scheduled public
engagement today in his hometown in Tarlac.
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president Roan Libarios said they
would closely monitor the impeachment trial.
Libarios said the IBP created the "Impeachment Watch" to monitor the trial
and inform the public of an independent assessment of proceedings.
The IBP said their monitoring team would be in the Senate to be able to give
the public regular bulletins with the assessments at the end of each hearing
day.
Libarios reminded senators of their oath to be impartial. He appealed to the
senators to shun political affiliations and even public opinion when they vote
on the guilt or acquittal of the embattled chief magistrate.
Lawyer Trixie Angeles, a member of "Impeachment Watch" said they are
concerned about how some senators abide by the popular perception of the
impeachment trial as generally a political process.
Angeles said the IBP considers the impeachment as a political and
constitutional process – political in the sense that it is undertaken by
political branches of government but also constitutional because it
must adhere to rules of procedure to guarantee due process and equal
protection.
Another member of the IBP team, Patricia Ann Prodigalidad said they expect
the senator-judges to be impartial and know for a fact that the trial is a
"criminal and penal proceeding."
Former SC court administrator Zenaida Elepano cited the lack of background in
litigation and judicial practice by most senators, which she said was the reason
why the IBP had to create the monitoring team.
'Moral fitness'
As for the House prosecutors, they expect the senator-judges to determine if
Corona is morally fit to continue serving as Chief Justice after they have
presented the evidence against him during the trial.
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, one of the spokespersons for the
prosecution, said he is confident that they would be able to convince
senator-judges that Corona does not have the moral fitness "to continue leading
the most sacred branch of our government."
Principal prosecution panel spokesman Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo said
prosecutors continue to meet as of yesterday afternoon to map out strategy.–
With Delon Porcalla, Edu Punay, Jess Diaz
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved
PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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