DENY P100-M BRIBE OFFER
MANILA, FEBRUARY 14, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Philip C. Tubeza -
('Senator-judges have lost impartiality'-- CJ Corona)
Claiming his impeachment trial has become an "inquisition," Chief Justice
Renato Corona on Monday said the Senate tribunal had "lost the cold neutrality
of an impartial judge" with Sen. Franklin Drilon and five other senators acting
as partisan prosecutors and urged the Supreme Court to stop the proceedings.
In a 48-page supplementary petition hours after the Senate voted 13-10 to
respect a Supreme Court restraining order on the opening of Corona's dollar
accounts, the impeached Chief Justice accused Drilon and Senators Serge Osmeña,
Francis Pangilinan, Alan Peter Cayetano and Teofisto Guingona III of violating
his right to due process by helping the prosecutors.
"The impeachment court has lost the cold neutrality of an impartial judge, in
derogation of the guaranteed rights of CJ Corona," he said in a petition filed
as Drilon again led the attempt by senator-judges to persuade officials of the
Philippine Savings Bank on Day 16 of the trial to disclose details of peso
deposits over vehement objections of lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas.
"The proceedings herein have become an inquisition, especially after CJ
Corona filed his urgent petition with this honorable court. Hence, without any
other plain, speedy or adequate remedy available in law, petitioner respectfully
submits this supplemental petition to amplify the impeachment court's grave
abuse of discretion," Corona said.
Corona said his right to due process was being violated in the impeachment
trial "because certain senator-judges have lost the cold neutrality of impartial
judges, by acting as prosecutors."
"Repeatedly, certain senator-judges have caused the production of documents
and elicited testimonial admissions, greatly favoring the prosecution. But
because the defense counsels are prohibited from objecting to the questions and
actuations of senator-judges, CJ Corona is helpless against their tyranny,"
Corona said.
The Chief Justice also said the senators were eliciting testimonial
admissions favoring the prosecution.
Trial a 'fishing expedition'
"What is obvious is that the senator-judges allied with President Aquino have
allowed, instead of prevented, the prosecution to use these impeachment
proceedings as "a fishing expedition" for evidence and to destroy petitioner's
character, integrity and reputation," Corona said.
"Their actions violate the very nature of due process and the character of an
impartial judge. Such abuse of constitutional rights cannot be allowed," he
added.
Corona also branded as "oppressive and blatantly violative" of a citizen's
right to due process Drilon's opinion that impeachment proceedings did not call
for the cold neutrality of an impartial judge.
He noted questions of some senators were "clearly intended to accomplish what
the prosecution failed to do."
In a press statement earlier on Monday, Corona accused President Aquino of
committing an impeachable offense when he allegedly urged senators to disobey
the Constitution.
He insisted that what wealth he and his wife had was the "fruit of hard and
honest work" and that his impeachment trial was a "sham" meant to stop the
distribution of Hacienda Luisita, the sprawling sugarcane plantation owned by
Mr. Aquino's family.
"The President has clearly committed an impeachable offense when he came out
swinging by openly urging the senator-judges to disobey the Constitution he has
personally sworn to uphold," Corona said.
Alleged Palace bribe
On Sunday, Corona's lawyers said Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, acting on
behalf of the President, had offered P100 million in pork barrel funds to
senators to defy the Supreme Court's temporary restraining order (TRO) on the
opening of Corona's dollar accounts—a charge Ochoa has denied.
On Monday, Mr. Aquino in an interview at the Philippine National Police
headquarters where he presided over a command conference also denied the defense
lawyers' allegation. "I will not dignify such accusations," he said.
He stressed the prosecution had other ways of ferreting out Corona's dollar
accounts.
"The point is not that we cannot find the truth," Mr. Aquino said. "From the
substantial discrepancy in the unearthed peso accounts, it looks like they have
made their case."
Last week, Mr. Aquino also deplored the court's restraining order, saying it
was similar to that issued allowing former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to
leave the country. The justice department ignored this TRO.
"This impeachment trial is a sham. It is revenge and a shameless attempt to
stop the distribution of Hacienda Luisita lands," Corona said.
Mr. Aquino's family is seeking in the Supreme Court a P10-billion
compensation for the land.
Honest work
Corona insisted that he and his family had enough wealth to start with and
that they did nothing wrong while acquiring more assets.
"Throughout my public career, I have never been involved in any anomaly or
scandal. Whatever assets my wife and I have acquired are products of 45 years of
toil and honest work," Corona said.
"My wife and I have been privileged to come from families of comfortable
means. We grew up never lacking in anything and even enjoyed some luxuries. We
earned our academic degrees in some of the best exclusive schools in the
country," he said.
Corona said that he earned several postgraduate degrees, including a master's
degree in Harvard Law School and that their parents "provided well for our
future."
"Family resources continue to be available to us anytime. I had a very
successful career in the private sector where I was a top executive before I
joined the government. That is public record," Corona said.
"For the past 40 years, my wife and I lived in a house, which was inherited
property, and for that reason never had to pay rent or amortization on our
residence. This translated to significant savings over forty years," he added.
Simple frugal lives
Corona said he and his wife lived "simple and frugal lives since we got
married more than 40 years ago, to the point of thriftiness."
"This contributed to how we have been able to accumulate these assets. Other
than our house, which we have lived in for almost 40 years, we have never had
any other house," Corona said.
"I do not spend on vices like smoking, drinking or gambling, and have been
completely devoted to my family. My family has always been my priority," he
said.
"It pains me to see my family suffer the reckless abandon of a few who want
to paint a different Renato C. Corona. I will not allow a career carefully
nurtured and a family lovingly cared for in my lifetime to be tarnished by
people in the business of lies and falsehoods," he added.
Corona said he was determined to "explain everything satisfactorily" when it
was the defense's turn to present its evidence.
"If you look closely at the documents already marked, the explanations are
all there. In the meantime, I would like to request the public not to make any
hasty conclusions," Corona said.
"This 'exposé' that the prosecution is trying to herald as another
'bombshell' will, in due time, be exposed as another dud like the 45 properties
they claimed I owned," he said.
'I do know my law'
"To the prosecution team, I do know my law. I have not broken any law. I have
no liability to the people and to the government," he added.
Corona said the assets that he and his wife now own were "the fruit of hard
and honest work for which all taxes have been fully paid."
"Since the prosecution alleged wrongdoing, the obligation to prove it is
theirs and theirs alone. Do not extract it from me through means that are foul,
coercive and illegal because this can only mean one thing: You did not have any
iota of evidence against me when you filed the impeachment complaint," Corona
said.
"As to the effort of the prosecution to enlist the assistance of certain
patently partisan and inquisitorial senator-judges to help obtain the evidence
you are digging up only now, not to mention the ruthless, un-Christian and
unrelenting public persecution through trial by publicity against my family and
I, I hope the public will see through your schemes," he said.
"My entire family is now, among others, being harassed by the (Bureau of
Internal Revenue). I hope this persecution will never happen to any other
official, officer, captain of industry or Juan de la Cruz. I would not wish it
on my worst enemy, should I have one."
Senators deny, slam alleged P100M bribe offer by
Palace By Maila Ager INQUIRER.net 1:53 pm | Monday,
[PHOTO - Chief defense counsel Serafin Cuevas (right) confers with
attorneys Jose Roy (center) and Serafin Cuevas Jr. after the impeachment court
ordered the defense lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona to submit a written
explanation why it should not be cited for contempt after it announced during a
press conference a bribery attempt by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa to some
of the senator-judges. Photo by Joseph Vidal, Senate
Pool]
MANILA, Philippines–Senators strongly denied on Monday the alleged P100
million bribe offer by Malacanang to defy the Supreme Court's temporary
restraining order on the opening the dollar accounts of Chief Justice Renato
Corona.
"Well that's not true at all. It's pure rubbish," Senator Panfilo Lacson said
of the allegation by Corona's lawyers.
"In my humble opinion, that's contemptuous,'' he said, adding that the latest
issue might be a way to preempt the senators who will be discussing the TRO in a
caucus and vote on whether or not to follow the TRO.
"That's contemptuous because it will affect the decision of some if not most
of the senators. I won't be affected, I'm sure about myself, hindi ako kasama
kung totoo mang may offer na ganoon (I've not been a party to this if it's true
there was an offer). But I doubt it very much and I don't believe there is such
an offer," Lacson said.
He also said such allegation was offensive to the senators, who sit as judges
in the impeachment trial.
"Para bang we're a bunch of people for sale, na may ida-dangle na P100
million at gawa noon magpapalit ang aming position whether or not i-defy ang TRO
(It's as if we're a bunch of people for sale, who would be offered P100 million
just to change our position)," he pointed out.
Lacson said the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, should ask the
defense team to reveal their source and cite the team's members for contempt if
necessary.
"We can force them under pain of being cited for contempt. That's really
contemptuous sa impeachment court to say the least," the senator added.
Senate Pro-Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada said the defense team should
identify the senators who had been approached by Malacanang lest all senators
would be suspect.
He said in an interview over television that he was hurt by the allegation of
the defense team because every senator's credibility and integrity might be
questionable now. "Kaya siguro karapat-dapat lang na banggitin ng defense panel
kung sinu sino ang mga senador na gustong i-bribe ng Malacanang (That's why it's
but proper for the defense panel to name who among the senator-judges Malacanang
wants to bribe).''
Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero, a known ally of the Aquino administration,
also denied the allegation.
"I can only speak for myself, it's not true," Escudero said in a text message
to reporters.
Escudero said he spoke with Executive Secretary Paquito "Jojo" Ochoa, who
allegedly made the offer to the senators, in two occasions this week but no
offer was made to him.
"No such offer was made. We respect each other and that would be out of
character for Jojo to do that," he said. Escudero and Ochoa have been good
friends even before the latter assumed office in government.
Besides, the senator said, he already made known his position last Friday
that while he does not agree with the SC decision, the Senate should heed and
respect it.
"The Senate should defend the subpoena we issued before the Supreme Court but
we should heed and respect it and not even put it to a vote," Escudero added.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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