FITNESS' / CJ's 'UNHOLY TRIO'
[PHOTO - PRAYER BEFORE TRIAL :
Senator Judges together with the prosecution and defense teams bow their heads
in prayer at the start of the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice
Renato Corona on January 16, 2012. (Photo by JACQUELINE
HERNANDEZ)
MANILA, JANUARY 17, 2012 (INQUIRER)
By Cathy Yamsuan, Gil C. Cabacungan, Marlon Ramos - Is impeached Chief Justice
Renato Corona morally fit to stay at the helm of the judiciary?
The House of Representatives prosecution team said the 23 senator-judges must
answer this question in the course of Corona's impeachment trial.
But the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the country's biggest
association of lawyers, said the senators should determine Corona's guilt or
innocence based on the evidence to be presented before them—and not on political
ties or public opinion.
Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto acknowledged that certain senators had
already shown their inclination, either to vote for a conviction or acquittal,
even before the impeachment trial had begun.
"A senator's political inclination is always a given. That's why he belongs
to a certain party or espouses certain issues. Let's not name names but there
are senator-judges whose moves and words give them away," Sotto said.
He said senators must "observe political neutrality" as pointed out in the
new rules that the Senate had issued to govern impeachment trials.
Primer
Item No. 14 of the Senate primer on impeachment trials defines political
neutrality as the exercise of a public official's duty "without unfair
discrimination and regardless of party affiliation."
Corona is facing charges of betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption,
and culpable violation of the Constitution.
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said the senator-judges would have to answer
the question about Corona's moral fitness once the matter was presented for
their decision.
"Considering the evidence that has been presented before them in the course
of the impeachment trial, does CJ Corona still have the moral fitness and
standing to return to the Supreme Court and continue leading the most sacred
branch of government?" said Angara, a spokesperson of the 11-member House
prosecution team.
In the run-up to the start of the trial on Monday, the prosecution team
presented to the media Corona's supposed transgressions—from his misuse of a
$21-million loan from the World Bank to his accumulation of as many as 45
properties worth more than P200 million since he became a member of the Supreme
Court.
Unsolicited advice
In an unsolicited advice, the IBP reminded the senators to "observe political
neutrality" during the historic impeachment proceedings.
"As sentinel of law and democracy, the IBP assures our people that it will
keep vigil in this critical moment in our democracy," the group said in a
statement read by its president, Roan Libarios, at a news briefing in Pasig
City.
"We call on the public to join in prayer with the IBP in its vigil for a fair
and credible impeachment proceedings consistent with the Rule of Law," it added.
Impeachment Watch
Libarios said the IBP formed the "Impeachment Watch" to closely monitor
Corona's trial and help educate the public about the legal issues which would be
discussed at the hearings.
"(A)n impartial justice can only be based on facts and evidence and not on
personal sentiments or swings of public opinion," he said.
"This is just a gentle, friendly reminder to our good senators of their duty
to base their decision solely on evidence as fully expressed in their oath as
well as in their own rules," he added.
Libarios said the IBP board of governors would put to task the senators based
on the oath they had taken in accepting their duty to hear and decide the case.
"Political partisanship and considerations have no place in the impeachment
trial. The Senate's own Rules on Impeachment clearly spell this out," he said.
He said the senators should observe political neutrality, without regard to
any party affiliation or preference.
Libarios said the senators must remain committed to their "solemn oath … to
do impartial justice according to the Constitution and the law of the
Philippines."
Trillanes
The IBP noted that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV had told the media that he would
gauge public opinion in coming up with a decision on Corona's fate.
The group also expressed concern over reports that President Aquino, believed
to be the main character behind moves to unseat Corona, had been meeting with
some senators.
Trixie Angeles, a member of the IBP "Impeachment Watch," said many IBP
members were anxious about some senators who regarded Corona's impeachment as a
mere political process.
Angeles said that while the impeachment process was political in nature since
it would be led by a political branch of the government, it should also be
constitutional because the basis of the senators' decision must be based on
evidence.
"It's not a numbers game as what many perceive it to be," she said.
Dangers of partiality
Sotto warned of the dangers of partiality by senator-judges as shown in the
impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada a decade ago.
The senator recalled that the senator-judges, who were not friendly to
Estrada, were among those who voted for the opening of the second envelope that
allegedly contained information linking him to "jueteng," an illegal numbers
racket.
Prosecutors walked out of the impeachment trial after the Senate rejected the
motion to open the second envelope. The decision not to open the envelope
sparked public outrage and mass action, known as Edsa II, that led to Estrada's
ouster and his replacement by Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Sotto said he and other senator-judges who voted against the opening of the
second envelope had to endure the public's wrath. It was widely believed that
these senators were protecting Estrada, hence they refused to accept the newly
presented evidence.
"Eventually, those senator-judges who supported the prosecutors' walkout,
they also got angry with the person they put in power. So, who was right after
all? History will judge you especially if your decisions are not proper," Sotto
said.
His warning followed public pronouncements by some senators that they would
consider public opinion as a factor in determining Corona's guilt.
Sotto said those who openly supported moves to oust Estrada regretted helping
put Arroyo into power.
"Do they even mention their participation in the events that happened then?
As it turns out, they were ashamed of what they did. They spent the next nine
years cursing themselves for what they did," he said.
FROM MANILA BULLETIN
PNoy optimistic on Corona's conviction By GENALYN
D. KABILING anuary 16, 2012, 7:10pm
[PHOTO from ABS-CBN- Chief Justice Renato Corona is interviewed by the
media after leaving the Senate session hall on the first trial day of
impeachment proceedings against him on Monday. Corona kept mum about the trial.
Photo by Rem Zamora for ABS-CBNnews.com)]
CONCEPCION, Tarlac, Philippines – President Benigno S. Aquino III, apparently
citing strong evidence, is optimistic of the imminent conviction of Supreme
Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato C. Corona in the historic impeachment trial
before the Senate.
The President said the impeachment charges against Corona are "very solid" as
he expressed hope the Senator-Judges will decide based on the evidence.
"Palagay ko napaka-solid ng mga charges leveled against the Chief Justice.
Ang expectation ko lang ay ang Senado titingnan itong mga akusasyon at
huhusgahan ayon doon sa ebidensyang ihaharap. Palagay ko napakatibay ng
ebidensyang ihaharap (I think the charges leveled against the Chief Justice are
very solid. My expectation is that the Senate would look into the accusations
and judge based on the evidence that will be presented. I think the evidence is
very strong)," President Aquino said in a press conference shortly after the
inauguration of a garment plant in Tarlac, when asked if he is confident about
the conviction of Corona in the impeachment trial.
The President, however, left to Corona to decide if he wants to take a leave
pending the impeachment trial amid his refusal to resign.
President Aquino said he has long appealed to Corona to rectify the way he
runs the Supreme Court but was ignored by the Chief Justice.
"Siya ay malayang Pilipino kaya desisyon niya kung ano ang kanyang gustong
gawin sa kanyang buhay (He is a free Filipino so it is up to him how he wants to
do with this life)," he said.
From Tarlac, the President went back to Malacañang for a series of meeting
with concerned Cabinet members while keeping tabs on the impeachment trial of
Corona.
"In addition to the impeachment, tuloy-tuloy ang palakad sa gobyerno (we are
continuing to run the government)," the Chief Executive said.
"At the end of the day, this is not about personalities," he explained to
groups criticizing his administration's efforts to oust Corona.
Aquino said the Chief Justice must be held accountable for his offenses,
including the violation of the Constitution and questionable decisions in the
Supreme Court, to end the perceived culture of impunity of an erring
magistrate.
FROM MALAYA BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Corona's 'unholy trio': Aquino, Roxas, Carpio BY
EVANGELINE DE VERA
AMID cheers and messages of encouragement from court personnel and
other justices, embattled Chief Justice Renato Corona yesterday took a fighting
stance and accused three public officials of conspiring to oust him from the
tribunal.
The three, he said in a speech before hundreds of supporters gathered in
front of the SC, have violated numerous laws in their wish to remove him from
his post.
Corona did not name names but was apparently referring to President Aquino,
Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio
when he said he is hindering the plans and aspirations of the three officials.
"Ako raw ay hadlang. Tama. Malaki akong hadlang sa mga nagnanais na hindi
matuloy ang pamamahagi ng lupain sa mga magsasaka sa Hacienda Luisita. Malaki
din akong hadlang sa isang nagmamadaling maging bise presidente pero natalo
nuong 2010. At huwag na tayong lumayo. Malaki din akong hadlang sa isang matagal
nang nag-aambisyong maging Chief Justice. Sila pong tatlo ang nagsasabwatan para
ako ay mapatalsik sa pwesto," he said to the applause of his supporters.
Aquino's family owns the Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. Roxas ran in May 2010
but lost to Vice President Jejomar Binay. Carpio is said to be the preferred
chief justice of sectors opposing Corona's "midnight appointment" by Gloria
Arroyo shortly before she stepped down in June 2010.
Corona said his enemies are so influential that they have no qualms using
government instrumentalities to oppress him and his family. He said one of these
agencies is the Land Registration Authority, an attached agency of the
Department of Justice, which earlier released a list of 45 properties supposedly
owned by Corona and his family.
He belied the claims of prosecutors alleging that he had 45 properties that
he did not disclose in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth
(SALN). He said that of the 45, only five of these properties were his, while
the rest were either owned by his children, his in-laws, have already been
disposed of or were just simply fabricated to give the impression that there is
a long list of unexplained assets that he had amassed.
The five properties which he admitted owning, and which he said he stated in
his SALNs, are a property with an area of 48 sq meters under his name
(condominium certificate of title (CCT)-85716; TCT-85804 covering 1,750 sq.
meters in Marikina, which was inherited by his wife, Cristina, from her parents;
a property with TCT-5582; a property he inherited from his parents where he and
his wife now live; and, a lot adjacent to the ancestral property also inherited
from his parents (TCT-141891).
Corona also said the charges against him in the eight articles of impeachment
are baseless, and evidence against him is weak.
For one, he said the 188 congressmen who signed the impeachment complaint
could not have read and understood the arguments contained in the complaint
which he said were hastily transmitted to the Senate.
He also said that rather than stating evidence against him, the articles of
impeachment stated purely questions of law, which he said is not within the
ambit of the Senate as an impeachment court.
Showing their support to Corona were other justices of the high court, among
them Lucas Bersamin, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Roberto Abad, Arturo Brion,
Martin Villarama, Jose Catral-Mendoza, Jose Perez, Diosdado Peralta, Presbitero
Velasco Jr. and Bienvenido Reyes, an appointee of Aquino, who attended the
gathering saying he is "for the institution." Corona's legal team led by former
SC justice Serafin Cuevas was also in full force.
Most of the court employees were in black and wore black ribbons to symbolize
the "death of democracy" and the dismemberment of the Supreme Court. They said
while they respect the impeachment as a political exercise, senator-judges must
vote according to the merits of the case and not be swayed by popular opinion or
by their political affiliations.
Judges and court employees from Manila and other courts, as well as
representatives from various court stations like the Sandiganbayan, Court of
Appeals, and Court of Tax Appeals also attended.
About 60 to 70 percent of the 675 personnel of the Quezon City Hall of
Justice wore black and purple to work to sympathize with Corona.
WITNESS
The House prosecution said if Corona is bringing his case to the public, the
more that he should be made to testify as a witness before the Senate
impeachment court.
"We only hope that the same candidness, kung gaano siya kabukas sa
(pagpapaliwanag sa publiko), na maluwag niyang ipinapaliwanag yung mga titulo,
ay sana gawin niya din dito sa Senate floor," Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, a
spokesman for the panel, told a press conference.
Quimbo said Corona violated the Senate rule barring both the prosecution and
defense parties from discussing the merits of the case.
"Sa tingin naman namin, kung matibay at matatag ang kanyang paninindigan at
wala siyang ill-gotten wealth, dito na natin gawin sa Senado. We only hope that
the defenses he has been raising dito sa employees ng SC ay gawin niya din dito
sa Senado mismo," he added.
Quimbo also said all the properties being questioned, except one, were not in
Corona's SALNs.
"As to all other properties, I think it will be proven during the Senate
hearing itself, on the impeachment that many of these had been acquired after he
had been appointed associate justice ng Korte Suprema. It's now his burden para
patunayan it's not ill-gotten," he said
Deputy speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, also a spokesman for the prosecution, said
it is not the prosecution that presented to media the supposed 45 properties
allegedly owned by Corona and his family.
"That (list of properties) is based on the public record of the Land
Registration Authority," he said.
The list contained in an LRA letter dated January 10 forms part of the
evidence submitted by the House panel in asking the impeachment court to
subpoena documents showing supposed ownership of properties by Corona.
Tañada slammed Corona for accusing the three unnamed officials of
masterminding his impeachment.
"They're diverting the issue. He (Corona) is on trial here. The three
conspirators have nothing to do with what is happening with this trial. I would
still maintain that there are no conspirators here," he said. – With Wendell Vigilia, JP Lopez, Gerard Naval, Ashzel
Hachero and Angela de Leon
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved
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