CG WILL ATTEND 1st DAY
[THE
SENATOR-JUDGES First row from left: Panfilo Lacson, Antonio Trillanes IV,
Franklin Drilon, Bong Revilla Jr., Teofisto Guingona III, Aquilino Pimentel
III,
Lito Lapid and Francis Pangilinan. Second row from left: Loren Legarda,
Alan Peter Cayetano, Tito Sotto, Sergio Osmeña III, Jinggoy Estrada, Edgardo
Angara,
Juan Ponce Enrile, Ralph Recto, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Joker
Arroyo,
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Manuel Villar Jr., Francis Escudero, Gregorio
Honasan II
and Pia Cayetano. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: RAFFY
LERMA/JERITO DELA CRUZ]
MANILA, JANUARY 16, 2012 (INQUIRER)
By Cathy Yamsuan - Most likely, his presence would be acknowledged but Chief
Justice Renato Corona will not be called to the witness stand if he shows up in
the Senate on Monday to attend the opening session of his impeachment trial.
"Even a court hearing does not require an accused to appear. A lawyer may
appear for him," Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto said in an interview on
Sunday.
"There are times you need to be there and times you need not be. The matter
is up to him. That's his choice," Sotto said.
Told that Corona's chief lawyer, Serafin Cuevas, had said his client would
attend Monday's session, Sotto said: "He would not be asked to the witness
stand."
Security will be tight when the session begins at 2 p.m. with the singing of
the national anthem, the recitation of a prayer and an opening statement by
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
Then the 11 members of the House of Representatives' prosecution panel and
their team of private lawyers will make a formal entry, followed by the defense
panel and a powerhouse group of about 30 private lawyers who have volunteered to
defend Corona.
"The articles of impeachment will be formally [read] to mark the official
start of trial," said Renato Bantug, the Senate executive director for
legislation.
"Perhaps the Senate President may decide to address the court and make a
statement," Bantug said.
The impeachment court's spokesperson, Valentina Cruz, said the senator-judges
had not set a time for the adjournment of each session.
At the impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada in 2000, sessions
stretched sometimes up to 10 p.m.
March 23 deadline
Sotto said a March 23 deadline was being eyed for the completion of Corona's
trial on charges of betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and culpable
violation of the Constitution.
This is because Congress plans to adjourn for the Holy Week in late March and
resume session on May 7.
"Once the oral arguments on both sides are done, we will vote on the articles
one by one. If he (Corona) is found guilty on one article, he will be removed
even if he is found to be not guilty on the seven other articles. But we would
need 16 votes to convict," Sotto said.
Sotto said he did not see the entire process stretching over a year.
Defense motions
Senators earlier agreed to hold its regular sessions at 9 a.m. on Mondays and
Tuesdays. The impeachment trial is to be held from Monday to Thursday.
"We will try our best to finish our legislative business before 11:30 a.m.
That is the time set for the caucus to discuss items on the agenda of the
impeachment court. We will discuss the motions one by one," Sotto said.
Corona's lawyers have asked for a preliminary hearing to establish whether
the impeachment complaint was indeed verified by the 188 lawmakers who signed
it.
Sotto said the closed-door caucus also planned to discuss a defense motion to
cite the prosecutors in contempt for releasing to the media details of Corona's
supposed posh penthouse at The Bellagio condominium in Taguig City.
A third defense motion wants Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and other House
officials subpoenaed in connection with the speed with which the House approved
the articles of impeachment.
Avoiding delays
The prosecution has filed its own motion asking the Senate to subpoena
Corona, his wife Cristina, daughter Carla Corona-Castillo, son-in-law
Constantino Castillo III, son Francis Corona and daughter-in-law Charina Corona.
The prosecutors want the Coronas to submit "transfer certificates of title
and condominium certificates of title" in connection with properties they have
acquired—part of the prosecution strategy to prove Corona failed to declare many
properties in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.
According to Sotto, there is a need to resolve the issues before the trial
begins to avoid delays.
He did not dismiss the possibility that prosecution and defense lawyers would
insist on giving statements at the start of the trial. "If they want to say
something, we will listen to them," he said.
Security measures
Manuel Parlade, a director at the Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms, said
his men would be posted at the session hall, at the working areas for
prosecution and defense, media working areas, the parking grounds and areas
surrounding the Senate.
Riot policemen will be stationed at the nearby Manila Film Center. K-9 dogs
will be at the entrance to the Senate to check for explosives.
"CCTV cameras will be installed in [places like] the police outposts near the
Senate (and) the parking lots," he said.
Some 175 tickets will be issued daily to private individuals who wish to
watch the session. They must line up at the police outpost near the Senate gate
earlier than the 11 a.m. distribution time as tickets will be given on a first
come, first served basis.
Officials said a "no sticker, no entry" policy would be observed in the
parking grounds and the driveway leading to the Senate building.
FROM THE MANILA TIMES
Corona to be present on first day of impeachment drama
ALL eyes are on the Senate today as the political process that will
either oust or vindicate Chief Justice Renato Corona starts.
Like a popular telenovela, the impeachment trial of the country's highest
magistrate will surely be closely followed by Filipinos, whose interest in the
case had been heightened with the juicy tidbits of "evidence" presented by the
prosecution in the past several days regarding Corona's allegedly vast wealth.
The Chief Justice will attend the first day of his trial even if he is not
required to.
But his lead counsel, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas,
will likely enter a not guilty plea in his behalf.
The senators, resplendent in their new maroon robes made especially for the
occasion, will sit as judges in this spectacle that will also be watched around
the world.
The Senate had allowed five television networks to cover the proceedings at
the plenary hall, and granted accreditation to more than 1,000 media personnel.
Millions of viewers will likely be glued to their television sets since the
trial will be carried live by local television stations and with on-line live
streaming.
The public can watch the trial from the gallery, but only 150 passes will be
issued on a first- come, first-served basis daily.
The Senate has already put in place security measures to make sure that the
trial will be safe and orderly.
Today, the senators will likely tackle Corona's motion for a preliminary
hearing.
Not afraid
Cuevas said that the Chief Justice will be present in today's proceedings to
show that he is not afraid to face the charges against him.
Under the Senate rules on impeachment, the trial can commence even with
Corona absent.
The Chief Justice's attendance is also proof that he respects the Senate as
an impeachment court, Cuevas said.
Corona, however, will likely sit quietly and let his lawyer enter a "not
guilty" plea on his behalf.
"We do not have the burden of proving Corona's innocence. It is the burden of
the prosecution to prove Corona's guilt," Cuevas said.
Other players in the trial include the 23 senators, who will be acting as
judges and the 11 members of the House of Representatives, who will prosecute
Corona and will present evidence to prove the eight charges they leveled against
the Chief Justice.
Corona is accused of committing high crimes such as graft and corruption,
culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.
Senate Majority Vicente Sotto 3rd on Sunday said that they will have a
regular session at 9 a.m. after which a caucus will be held to discuss all
concerns and issues about the impeachment process.
Sotto added that all the four motions filed by the prosecution and defense
panels before the Senate impeachment court will be discussed during the caucus,
which may also tackle the prosecution's request to subpoena Corona and his
family.
Senators may also take up the defense's petition to summon House Speaker
Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and other members of the House of Representatives to
explain how the impeachment complaint was approved.
If the senator-judges grant Corona's petition for a preliminary hearing, the
trial proper would be set aside and the defense team will be the first to
present evidence and witnesses to prove that the impeachment complaint is
defective.
If the senator-judges deny the petition, the impeachment court will proceed
with the actual trial, wherein the prosecution will enumerate their evidence
against Corona.
Sotto said that after Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who will be the
presiding officer, formally opens the court in the afternoon, each side will be
given 10 minutes to deliver an opening statement, laying out their primary
arguments in the case.
"We will hear from the side of prosecutors and defense for any
manifestation," Sotto said during a radio interview over dzBB.
The majority leader expressed belief that the Senate could finish the Corona
impeachment trial by March 23 or before Congress takes its break for the Holy
Week.
Based on the legislative calendar of the Fifteenth Congress, the session will
be until March 23 and will be adjourned on March 24 to May 6.
Session will resume on May 7 and will again be adjourned sine die on June 8.
Sotto said that they would not allow the trial to last long.
"Pag nag-adjourn sine die 2013, may pending impeachment, delikado yan. Ang
provision sa atin, wala na. Moot and academic or dismissed ang impeachment [If
we adjourn sine die in 2013 and there is a pending impeachment, that is
dangerous. It will make the impeachment moot and academic or dismissed]," he
explained.
Test of independence
THE impeachment trial is also a test of the independence, credibility and
integrity of all governments institutions, according to Harvey Keh, lead
convener of the Kaya Natin movement.
Keh said that President Benigno Aquino 3rd should be prepared for any
eventuality, including the possibility of Corona's acquittal.
But if the Senate convicted the Chief Justice, he added, President Aquino
would have the perfect opportunity to appoint a fair, impartial Chief Justice.
Keh said that the conviction of Corona could serve as a warning to all
impeachable officials.
For the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers, conviction may make for a better
judicial institution by serving as a springboard for reforms in the
administration of justice.
It may also bamboozle the courts and undermine the system of checks and
balances that could lead to a monopoly of power, the group said.
The group also said that the impeachment trial should also not be used to
cover up the incompetence and failure of the Aquino administration to concretely
address "gut issues" including the people's unmet basic social and economic
needs and the disproportionate priority given to largely unheeded demands for
justice and accountability for grievous human-rights violations. WITH REPORT FROM JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA
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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