COURT
MANILA, JANUARY
2,
2012 (TIMES) Written by : RITCHIE A. HORARIO CORRESPONDENT
- Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato Corona might escape trial
before the Senate impeachment court.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Sunday said that the trial might be
prevented if the impeachment court found defective the eight Articles of
Impeachment filed against Corona by the House of Representatives.
The impeachment court will have to resolve first a motion filed by the Chief
Justice asking for outright dismissal of the verified impeachment complaint
before senators can hold the trial.
"Kung totoo yung mosyon ni Corona na kailangan ng verification pero hindi
sinunod yun eh wala kaming magagawa kundi ibalik yun sa House [If there is truth
to the motion of Chief Justice Renato Corona that there was no verification
made, we have no choice but to return the complaint back to the House of
Representatives]," Enrile told radio station dzBB.
In a 79-page reply filed before the Senate, Corona and his lawyers maintained
that the impeachment complaint should be dismissed because of its "insufficiency
in substance and form and its failure to comply with the requirement of
verification."
Besides the reply, the Chief Justice also asked the impeachment court for
preliminary proceedings on the impeachment complaint filed against him.
In the seven-page motion, Corona's camp also asked the Senate impeachment
court for preliminary proceedings on his motion to dismiss the impeachment
complaint.
Enrile said that they would give priority to the motion when Congress
sessions resume on January 16, adding that they will be using the adversarial
proceedings.
He explained that if both parties, during the preliminary hearing, agreed
that the impeachment court should base its decision on pleadings, the trial will
not push through anymore.
"Puwedeng desisyunan yan based on the pleadings, titingnan namin kung sino
ang mas matibay na paninindigan kung yung Articles of Impeachment o yung sagot
[We can decide on the impeachment complaint based on the pleadings, we will
assess which has a stronger point, the Articles of Impeachment or the reply of
Corona]," Enrile said.
The impeachment court is expected to receive today the reply of the House of
Representatives to the motion of Corona asking for the outright dismissal of the
Articles of Impeachment filed against him.
The House was given until January 1 to respond to the answer of Corona to the
writ of summons issued by the impeachment court.
But since the deadline fell on a holiday and a Sunday at that, the response
can be filed on the following day, according to the Rules on Impeachment adopted
by the Senate.
Lawyer Ma. Valentina Cruz, the Senate legal counsel and spokesman for the
impeachment court, said that Corona's motion would be tackled by the court once
it reconvenes when Congress resumes session on January 16.
"The proceedings will continue on January 16," Cruz said in a text message.
She also explained that Corona's motion merely means that the Chief Justice
wants the impeachment court to hear his defense on the constitutionality of the
impeachment complaint filed against him.
"Verification [of the impeachment complaint] was done before the Secretary
General [of the House of Representatives], as required in our Rules [of
Impeachment]," Rep. Miro Quimbo of Marikina City (Metro Manila), also the
spokesman for the House prosecution team, earlier said.
Looking ahead, House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada 3rd over the weekend said
that Corona will be convicted because he is "unfit" to be part of the Supreme
Court.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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