VS CJ MEDIA BLITZ
[PHOTO - NO
ENTRY A sign "Wet varnishing, don't go inside" is placed on the doorknob of Unit
38B of the Bellagio Tower I at Bonifacio Global City reported to be owned by
Chief Justice Renato Corona. ERNIE U.
SARMIENTO]
MANILA, JANUARY 9, 2012 (INQUIRER)
By Cathy C. Yamsuan, Christian V. Esguerra - Patience is running low among some
members of the Senate impeachment court as prosecutors from the House of
Representatives defy the rules by presenting before the media evidence against
Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Senator Gregorio Honasan on Thursday warned that senators might impose
disciplinary action if the prosecutors led by Representative Niel Tupas Jr.
would not abide by the impeachment rule against disclosing in public "the merits
of a pending impeachment trial."
"If some senator-judges lose their patience, the prosecution [could be
disciplined]," he told the Inquirer by phone.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III was similarly incensed, especially
after the House prosecutors came out with a report on another condominium unit
supposedly owned by Corona. This time, the story cited a source from the
11-member prosecuting panel.
Study rules
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile urged Tupas to study the rules of the
impeachment court.
"Does Tupas not understand he signed the impeachment complaint? Tupas should
study the rules. He is a complainant! (House prosecutors) should study the
process if they are gentleman lawyers!" said Enrile, who will sit as presiding
officer of the impeachment court.
Tupas earlier explained that he could not be accused of preempting the trial
when he revealed Corona's ownership of the penthouse unit at The Bellagio's
Tower I since he had yet to enter his appearance as lead prosecutor in the
impeachment.
In a phone interview, Enrile said it was "inevitable" that the senator-judges
would raise whether sanctions would be imposed on Tupas and other House
prosecutors involved in the news conference where the condo unit was revealed.
"What will we do with that (premature disclosure)? We will discuss how to
deal with (Tupas). He cannot say the impeachment court does not have
jurisdiction on him since he has no entry of appearance," the Senate President
said.
Telegraphing punches
Still, Enrile indicated willingness to be "lenient" toward Tupas and company
for the moment.
"The real problem is that they are telegraphing their punches. Aside from the
fact that their actions might not sit well with the impeachment court. Unless
their real audience is the public and media and not us!" Sotto said in a text
message.
[PHOTO - NOVENA MASS: Chief Justice Renato Corona, and his wife
Cristina attend the first day of the Novena Mass organized by the Solidarity for
Sovereignty movement held on the grounds of the Supreme Court Friday afternoon.
The Novena Mass was conducted in connection with the impeachment case filed
against Corona. (Photo by ALI VICOY FOR MANILA DAILY BULLETIN]
House prosecutors on Tuesday revealed Corona's ownership of a
303.5-square-meter unit at Tower I of The Bellagio at Bonifacio Global City in
Taguig City.
Honasan criticized the latest report coming from an anonymous source, which
claimed that Corona owned a two-bedroom condo unit worth P5 million to P8
million at Bonifacio Ridge in Taguig City.
"It's like you're conditioning the public mind that this person is already
guilty. The rule now is shoot first and then continue," he said.
A source on the House panel disclosed two other properties allegedly owned by
Corona—another condominium unit in Makati City and a house and lot in Quezon
City.
Honasan castigated Tupas who insisted that he and fellow prosecutors did not
violate the impeachment rules by talking about the merits of the case in public
before the actual trial.
"They're now interpreting the rules? Who authorized them to interpret the
rules?" the senator said.
No more disclosure
Tupas said the members of the prosecution panel would stop disclosing to the
public any additional pieces of evidence against Corona in deference to some
senator-judges who cried foul.
"No more disclosure (of documents) for the meantime or until January 16 when
the formal trial begins. The public, at least, is well-informed of our
position," Tupas told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara, the panel's deputy spokesperson,
said the panel did not want to antagonize the Senate.
"I don't think there will be anymore release officially of documents. We do
not want to incur the ire not of the Senate but of some senators," Angara told
the Inquirer.
"We will respect the Senate rules with respect to the parties who are barred
from speaking on the merits of the impeachment case," he added.
Angara, however, said that the panel would continue to inform the public
about the purpose and progress of the case.
Punitive action
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III warned that repeated antics by the House panel
could merit punitive action.
Senator Panfilo Lacson volunteered to file the motion to cite prosecutors for
contempt "if this exercise persists."
Pimentel said once "an abusive pattern" was established, "prosecutors should
prepare to be disciplined… With one action at the boundary of the rules of
allowable pronouncement, they can get away with it."
"But the moment we establish a pattern, the (impeachment) court can declare
abuse and implement discipline. They should face the consequences of their
acts," he added.
Enrile suggested that if prosecutors could not help themselves and produce
more damning evidence against Corona, "they can withdraw the case from the
(impeachment court) and try him in public… I appeal to the prosecutors, if they
have evidence, not to use it outside the impeachment trial."
Much as the senator-judges would like to "exercise fairness," Enrile added
that the Senate sitting as an impeachment court "has the power to cite (Tupas)
in contempt… If they are going to try (Corona) in public, why do we need
(senator)-judges for?"
Produce SALN
In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda dared Corona to
instruct the executive clerk of court of the Supreme Court to make public the
Chief Justice's statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) to settle
once and for all whether his P14-million condominium unit at The Bellagio was
not ill-gotten.
Lacierda said Malacañang could not rely on the statement of Court
Administrator Midas Marquez that Corona had enough financial resources to afford
the purchase of the penthouse.
"My plea to the Supreme Court, rather to the Chief Justice, is that if Midas
Marquez claims that you have sufficient financial resources to pay for the
property, then why is it taking you so long to produce your SALN," he added.
With reports from Cynthia D. Balana and Norman Bordadora
FROM THE DAILY TRIBUNE
JPE warns prosecutors vs CJ media blitz By Angie
M. Rosales and Gerry Baldo 01/06/2012
Obey Senate rules or withdraw impeachment complaint against the
Chief Justice.
This was the gist of the serious warning issued yesterday by Senate President
Juan Ponce-Enrile to the prosecution team that insists on bringing its case to
the media, instead of the Senate.
The Senate chief who will be the presiding officer in the proceedings said it
would have been better had the prosecutors restrained themselves from disclosing
information to the public before it can be presented before the impeachment
court, especially since the Senate has already set forth the rules of the
proceedings.
"If they have the evidence, they should present this before the court
handling the case, not before the public. That's in our rules. It's unfair to
the person who stands as the accused. We must exercise fairness, even if they
are angry at the person, even to those we hate, we must exercise fairness. We
have to respect the rights of the accused under our process, especially under
the Constitution.
"What I ask of them (prosecutors) is, if they have evidence, they should not
use that evidence outside of the (Senate) courtroom, because
precisely, they filed the impeachment case for them to present their evidence
before the Senate court. If the prosecutors want to try the case outside of the
impeachment court, then they should withdraw the case and show all their
evidence to the public," Enrile said.
"Don't try the case outside of the Senate court. If they insist on their
trial and conviction by publicity of the Chief Justice, then they have to
withdraw the impeachment complaint. And then talk about it outside. What else do
we (Senate-jurors) have left to do since their evidence is being bared to the
whole world outside of the courtoom? What is needed is that evidence is
presented during the trial, later, the same can be picked up by the media. If we
are going to try the person in public, why do we need to do it before the Senate
court?", Enrile stressed.
Contemptuous, was the emerging position of most senators sitting as judges in
the forthcoming impeachment trial of SC Chief Justice Renato Corona on the
public presentation of evidence by the House prosecution panel.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, in reiterating his disgust over the acts of the
congressmen-prosecutors, threatened to initiate a motion to cite them in
contempt when the impeachment court reconvenes on Jan. 16 if they continue
discussing the merits of the case in public.
"If they persist in making comments or making public the evidence in their
hands, I myself will put to a vote their possible contempt citation. So I'm glad
that most of the senators are united in our position as senator judges that they
should not make a mockery out of the impeachment proceedings. This is sacred,
this is enshrined in our Constitution and we should respect the impeachment
proceeding," he said.
Enrile, in a phone-patch interview with reporters gave the prosecution panel
members a lecture on how they should carry themselves, being the complainant and
lawyers as well in the impeachment case.
Asked if any violation was committed, Enrile answered in the affirmative,
adding that such acts can already be used as ground for contempt.
Enrile reminded the congressmen that the Senate is empowered to cite anybody
for contempt, even lawyers as they have brought themselves under the impeachment
court.
The Senate president slammed lead prosecutor Rep. Niel Tupas Jr's claim that
such cannot be a violation since they have not entered into the records their
appearance.
"Tell Tupas to study the laws. He should study them first," he said.
"He is a complainant. Does he understand what he is doing? He is not only a
lawyer, he is a complainant. My God! Does he not even understand what he is
doing?," an obviously irked Enrile commented.
But he also said that It will be up to the entire Senate body whether the
prosecutors should be admonished or not.
"Tupas should first understand what he is doing. He is a complainant. He
signed the complaint. But he says he has not made an appearance. Then who are
you (Tupas)? You have signed the complaint. You have submitted yourself to the
jurisdiction of the impeachment court. Doesn't he understand that as a lawyer
and a complainant?," he stressed.
Having unleashed a mouthful, Enrile said the panel of prosecutors, if they
consider themselves gentlemen and trial lawyers, they should know how to observe
the process.
"Now if they are acting as politicians, they should not participate in the
trial," he emphasized.
Lacson, in a separate interview with reporters, said a vote of a simple
majority can be cause for a citation of contempt.
The vote of two-thirds of the members is required only to convict the person
impeached, he explained.
"We decide in a caucus whatever sanction will be meted them, if it's contempt
(of court) or admonition. It will depend on the gravity of the offense. Like in
this case, this is not direct contempt, it's indirect contempt. We could issue
then a show cause (order) or (ask them to) explain," he said.
While Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedures on impeachment trials covers the
presiding officer, senator-judges, prosecutors, the person impeached and their
respective counsel and witnesses, the likes of Presidential Political Adviser
Ronald Llamas doesn't fall under any of these categories.
"But it doesn't mean that the impeachment court can't compel him not to
discuss in public the merits of the case," Lacson said.
"Congressmen who were elected prosecutors by their peers should distinguish
between their mandate as elected representatives in their districts and their
duties and responsibilities as prosecutors. While we're all bound by the
time-honored tradition of inter-parliamentary courtesy as legislators of both
houses, we are also bound by the rules on impeachment trials which the Senate
has already published and therefore we must have read as a matter of individual
responsibility," Lacson added.
Enrile ruled out the possibility of holding pre-trial proceedings, pointing
out that such is not provided under their rules.
"On the issue of preliminary hearing, we will take that up. That is the first
thing we will take up," he said.
This doesn't mean that they will hear Corona's pleading to dismiss the case
since there is no such motion.
The House prosecution panel will continue to engage the media relative to
developments in the impeachment complaint against the CJ as long as they do not
talk about the merits of the case.
Tupas said he will ignore calls for him and the members of the prosecution
panel to avoid the media even beyond the start of the trial on Jan. 16.
Tupas insisted that the impeachment rules only prevent them from talking with
the media if they discuss the merits of the case.
"We are barred from talking about the merits of the case but we can still
inform the public on the issues which do not touch on the merits," said Tupas.
Meanwhile, following statements issued by Presidential Spokesman Edwin
Lacierda, Malacañang appears very confident that it is able to boot out the CJ
from the top judicial post.
Lacierda said calling for Corona's resignation is far from their minds even
as he said they would opt to wait for the result of the impeachment trial.
Lacierda, however, said they "would certainly welcome" a resignation from the
embattled chief magistrate.
Corona is the second Arroyo ally to have been sent to the impeachment
chamber. However, unlike Corona, former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, quit her
post days before the actual impeachment trial. With Fernan
Angeles
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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