IMPEACH DRAMA TO UNFOLD / IMPEACHMENT PROCESS /
WHAT'S AT STAKE
[PHOTO - Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz gives his blessings to Chief Justice Renato
Corona during a visit to the Supreme Court Friday.]
MANILA, JANUARY 15, 2012 (STAR) By
Edu Punay - Forgiveness is all that matters now to Chief Justice Renato Corona
as he prepares for his impeachment trial at the Senate beginning tomorrow.
"I will no longer wait to be acquitted. This early, I have already forgiven
them," Corona told reporters yesterday on the sidelines of the last Novena Mass
organized by his supporters at the Supreme Court (SC).
The embattled SC chief said he holds no grudge against President Aquino, who
publicly supported his impeachment by administration allies in the House of
Representatives last month.
"I still hold that Christian value my parents and my schools had taught me –
to forgive all those who sinned against me," he said.
Corona also shrugged off the reported "Plan B" of the Aquino administration,
wherein he would be replaced even if acquitted.
"I no longer fear that Plan B. What we all have to fear is our Lord," he
said.
He again voiced his belief that it was the SC's decision last November to
have Hacienda Luisita distributed to tenants that prompted the administration to
work for his ouster. The Aquino-Cojuangco family owns Hacienda Luisita.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach Corona last Dec. 12 or barely a
month after the SC decision on the Hacienda Luisita case.
Corona is now being accused of owning over 45 condominium units and real
estate properties in Metro Manila. He admitted he owns only five properties - a
house he inherited from his parents and four condominium units he earned through
hard work.
"I will stand by the truth; I own five properties," he said. He called the
allegation "nothing but black propaganda to poison the people's minds."
Corona said he is ready for his trial, but he would not say if he would be
attending the hearings.
"This battle has gone beyond me. My battle has become secondary. This is now
the battle of the people for democracy and rule of law," he said.
He also ruled out taking a leave of absence, much less resigning. "There is
no Filipino who loves his country and will resign in this situation," he said,
adding that he draws strength from his family and supporters.
Last Friday, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz visited the embattled chief
justice to give his support and "blessing."
"He is the target but with him is the entire judiciary. The judiciary is
under threat now by attacks by no less than the executive," the outspoken
prelate said.
He called Corona's impeachment trial "a political gimmick" that "has no merit
at all."
Judiciary in black
Black rules in the judiciary as hundreds of judges and court employees vow to
show up tomorrow at the SC compound in black shirts to dramatize their support
for Corona.
Corona's sympathizers also plan to cover the huge statues of the late Chief
Justices Cayetano Arellano and Jose Abad Santos at the steps of the SC building
on Padre Faura Street with black cloth as part of their protest and to symbolize
the "death of democracy in the Philippines."
Black ribbons will bedeck some spots along the routes where the protesters
intend to hold their "walk for democracy."
A huge TV monitor would be put up at the SC quadrangle to enable court
personnel and Corona supporters to monitor the Senate impeachment proceedings.
"The court employees are agitated and we want to show our disgust on this
impeachment which is an attack against our institution," Jojo Guerrero,
president of the SC Employees Association, told reporters yesterday on the
sidelines of the final Novena Mass for Corona.
Guerrero said they initially decided against a work stoppage. "But we see
that the people are not fully informed or educated about the real issues
involving the judiciary."
Guerrero recalled their "black Monday" protest last year with the judges over
proposed cuts in the budget of the judiciary and the refusal of the executive
department to release unpaid special allowances and salaries for retired and
active judges and court employees.
"Even way back to the budget issue, the executive really wants to control the
judiciary. And we cannot just sit and allow that to happen without a fight. We
are behind the chief justice in this battle," he said.
He said they shared Corona's belief that the SC decision on the Hacienda
Luisita triggered moves to impeach the chief justice.
Guerrero said their protest actions are voluntary and that they have been
warned by the SC to be "more careful" in holding such activities.
"But we can no longer contain this, as emotions of our members are already
running high," he said.
There are over 27,000 court employees all over the country. The SC Employees
Association alone has about 3,000 members.
Mass and prayers
Corona, his family and supporters will greet the first day of the trial
tomorrow with a Mass at the SC grounds at 9:30 a.m. to be celebrated by bishops.
After the Mass, Corona is expected to deliver a message of gratitude and
solidarity with members of the judiciary.
The Sheriffs Confederation of the Philippines Inc. (SCP), meanwhile, lashed
out at the executive department for its "continuous attack" on the SC.
"The pressures being exerted so that the courts, a third and co-equal branch
of the government, kowtow to the wishes of the chief executive, first through
the budget, then by verbal abuse and now by impeachment is very disheartening,"
the SCP said in a statement.
"We support Chief Justice Renato Corona in his fight to resist these efforts
aimed at undermining the integrity and independence of the courts," it said.
The Judiciary Association of Clerks of the Philippines (JACOPHIL) expressed
its "heartfelt support for and commitment" to the Chief Justice.
It said that "all freedom-loving, law-abiding Filipinos are duty bound to
respect the mandates of a co-equal branch of government."
Sorsogon first district Rep. Salvador Escudero III, father of Sen. Francis
Escudero, expressed "full confidence that with God's help and guidance, the
Chief Justice can weather this (impeachment trial)."
Alliance for National and Democracy party-list Rep. Pastor Alcover Jr. said
his group "is seriously disturbed with the recent turn of events" with the
judiciary becoming "the favorite target of a sinister campaign of vilification
and insults from no less than the President."
Wrong move
A legal expert, meanwhile, said the House prosecution panel made a "wrong
move" when it asked the Senate to compel Corona's wife, children, and a
son-in-law to appear before the impeachment court.
Romulo Macalintal expressed belief the testimonies of Corona's wife Cristina
and their children on the alleged questionable real properties would not serve
the prosecution's cause and might only strengthen the defense of the embattled
Chief Justice.
"Firstly, I am sure the prosecution will never accept any 'explanation'
favorable to Corona," he said in a statement.
He said the law provides that spouses cannot be compelled to testify against
each other in a trial.
"The same is true for children who cannot be compelled to testify against
their parents under Rule 130 of Rules of Court," he said.
He said the Rules of Court also apply to the impeachment trial as provided
for in Section 6 of the Senate impeachment rules.
Macalintal also said the Senate would likely accept Corona's motion for
preliminary hearing when the impeachment trial begins tomorrow afternoon.
"The Senate impeachment court has no alternative but to allow Corona's motion
for preliminary hearing which is a remedy allowed under the RC (rules of court)
which under the own rules of the SIC (Senate impeachment court) shall be
'suppletorily applied' as provided in Section VI of SIC rules," he said.
But he clarified that there is no assurance of dismissal of the impeachment
complaint by the court after the preliminary hearing since the case would "take
up factual issues which could be better resolved in the trial proper where
evidence and counterevidence will be adduced by both parties."
FROM MANILA BULLETIN
Impeachment Process Never on a Sunday By ATTY.
RENE ESPINA Former Senator January 14, 2012, 11:12pm
[PHOTO - IMPEACHMENT TRIAL NEARS: Utility men of the Senate
install Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, the electrical wiring for the cameras that will
monitor the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona beginning
Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (Photo by CHARI VILLEGAS)]
MANILA, Philippines — TOMORROW, Monday, the impeachment trial of Supreme
Court Chief Justice Corona begins in the Senate. In order to give my readers a
better understanding of impeachment, let me cite Article XI of our
Constitution – Accountability of Public Officers.
Section 1. Public Office is a public trust. Public Officers and
employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost
responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and
justice, and lead modest lives.
Section 2. The President, the Vice President, the Members of the
Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman
may be removed from office, on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable
violation of the constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other
high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. All other public officers and
employees may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by impeachment.
Section 3. (1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive
power to initiate all cases of impeachment. (2) A verified complaint for
impeachment may be filed by any member of the House of Representatives or by any
citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any member thereof, which shall be
included in the order of business within 10 session days and referred to the
proper committee within 3 session days thereafter. The committee after hearing
and by a majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House
within 60 session days with such referral together with the corresponding
resolution. xxx (3) A vote of at least one third of all the Members of the House
shall be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of
Impeachment of the Committee, or override its contrary resolution. The vote of
each Member shall be recorded. (4) In case the verified complaint of resolution
or impeachment is filed by at least one third of all the Members of the House,
the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate
shall forthwith proceed. (6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try and
decide all cases of impeachment. When sitting for that purpose, the Senators
shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the Philippines is on
trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside but shall not vote.
No person shall be convicted without concurrence of two thirds of all the
Members of the Senate.
I shall treat this serious matter of impeachment with sobriety and a sense of
scholarly detachment. And I shall as much as humanly possible try not to be
influenced by any statements intended to project the side of the prosecutors or
that of the defense. The only exception would be to cite the facts as they are
presented in the Senate hearings.
The public is aware that as early as the inauguration of the new
administration, Malacañang began to distance itself from defendant CJ Corona.
In fact, the administering justice for the President's Oath of Office was
Justice Conchita Carpio Morales. Thereafter there were several cases that were
decided by the Supreme Court against Malacañang. One was the declaration of
unconstitutionality of the Truth Commission. The SC said that the administrative
order creating the commission was defective in the sense that it only authorized
the Truth Commission to investigate the "previous administration." There were
some comments that had the administration added the letter S to the word
administration, the constitutional provision about equal protection of the laws
would have been satisfied.
There were other cases which were decided by the SC which were not to the
liking of the government, such as the TRO stopping the hold departure order of
President GMA. To cut a long story short, the differences of opinion between
Malacañang and the SC resulted in the present impeachment trial in the Senate.
I am disturbed by the statement of a senator who is not a lawyer who was
quoted by the press as saying that he will not look at the evidence presented
during the Senate trial but at the prevailing public opinion and that he will
follow what the people want or words to that effect.
I hope that reason, fairness, justice, and due process of law will prevail to
uphold the Constitution. Any other procedure of the Senate impeachment trial
will certainly destabilize our country. rene.espina@hotmail.com
FROM THE PHILSTAR
Impeachment: What is at stake BABE'S EYE VIEW By
Babe Romualdez (The Philippine Star) Updated January 15, 2012 12:00 AM
For Chief Justice Renato Corona, this impeachment trial will be all or
nothing. While he defiantly proclaimed at the onset that this trial is an
assault on the independence of the judiciary and that he as the chief magistrate
will lead the fight against another potential dictatorship, he knows all too
well that a conviction could also personally mean a disgraceful end to a long
and hard earned legal career. An Atenean through and through, his brilliance was
evident when he graduated with honors and was editor-in-chief of Ateneo's school
paper, The Guidon. Renato Corona knows that his honor, integrity, reputation as
well as the social standing and perhaps even the future of his family is at
stake.
While the Chief Justice can choose to simply walk away from this impeachment
trial and save himself (and his family) the agony of being put under the hot
seat, he is adamant and determined to see this impeachment through. Underneath
the soft spoken and mild mannered demeanor lies a fiery Batangueno who is known
never to run away from a fight. He did not mince words in describing the
impeachment in Congress as a "fatal assault on the independent exercise of
judicial power," calling the complainants ignorant of the concept of a collegial
body like the Supreme Court where each member from the Chief Justice down to the
most junior associate has one vote that carries equal weight with the rest. For
Corona, the impeachment is not a simple attack against him but a desecration of
the independence and Constitutional mandate of the Judiciary. An acquittal will
certainly give the Judiciary more muscle to flex giving the power of the pen the
lethal edge of a sword. If convicted, Corona loses everything and faces the
possibility of a criminal lawsuit.
On the other hand, for President Noynoy Aquino, it means using up a lot of
his political capital and staking his high public rating on this exercise,
emphatic as he is that battling graft and corruption will be achieved more
easily if the stumbling block whom he has unequivocally pointed out to be the
Chief Justice is removed from office. There is every indication that Malacanang
will use its "awesome powers" to work on the senator-judges and make sure that
the impeachment will result in a conviction.
As clearly seen, the Palace is already preparing for the transition to a
potential successor much to the dismay of several lawyers' groups who denounced
this move as an infringement on the Judicial and Bar Council's
constitutionally-mandated function to screen and recommend nominees for the
position. Even this early, lawyers' groups and judges' associations already see
the impeachment with rumors of a "Plan B" to remove Corona as an encroachment on
the rights as well as the independence of the Judicial branch. The fact of the
matter is, so much is at stake for P-Noy. A Corona acquittal could mean a lame
duck president for the next four years because for every questionable legal
move, the Corona-led Supreme Court could literally block P-Noy even more.
What is also at stake is the integrity and credibility of the Senate as well
as the status and character of the senator-judges who will be put under a lot of
pressure and scrutiny, with every single utterance most likely dissected and
deliberated on not only by the prosecution and defense but most importantly, by
the viewing public. No question the senators themselves will also go through
some sort of trial because they are in a unique position in determining the fate
of the Chief Justice. More importantly, the burden to set the direction and the
future of this country is almost literally in their hands. They have to make
sure that the process is perceived as impartial and objective. They must see to
it that everything is conducted in an orderly manner and according to the rule
of law. But most of all, they have to ensure that this impeachment trial is
successfully concluded regardless of the outcome.
The senator-judges must be careful against giving any hint that they are
pandering to populist sentiment, with one senator already admitting that it's
how he intends to vote but really, they should not be swayed or influenced by
the demand of certain groups claiming they want a swift and fair trial and yet
insist that the result must be a conviction. How can they claim to be fair if
they already want a certain outcome even before the deliberations begin?
The senators must not allow another failure in the impeachment process like
what happened during the trial of former president Joseph Estrada. This is
precisely why we are in this situation today, when we cut short a constitutional
process that gave rise to the unprecedented nine-year rule of Gloria Arroyo that
allowed her to appoint almost all the Supreme Court justices. Aside from
determining the culpability of Renato Corona, what is also at stake is our
justice system and a determination whether the checks and balances in this
country are indeed working. For implicit in the issue is the exercise of
independence between the three co-equal branches of government.
But when all is said and done, what is ultimately at stake here is our
political maturity as a nation whether we are in fact a nation that follows the
democratic process and the rule of law not always turning to mob rule.
Ultimately, this impeachment will also determine whether we are a nation of laws
and not of men. We will soon find out. Email: babeseyeview@yahoo.com
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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