/ PNoy TREADING DANGEROUSLY
MANILA, FEBRUARY 21, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By Christina Mendez - As some
senators called for sobriety and restraint between President Aquino and Chief
Justice Renato Corona over the weekend, others recognized that the Palace will
not allow itself to lose in the fight against the chief magistrate now facing
impeachment trial at the Senate.
"President Aquino cannot afford to lose here," a senator told The STAR
yesterday when asked if the chief executive will eventually heed some senators'
call to exercise restraint amid the ongoing impeachment proceedings against
Corona.
The senator, who asked not be named to avoid reprisal, also recognized the
vast resources of government, which may be used not only to sway public opinion
but also the decision of the 23 senator-judges on the case.
The source bolstered the concerns of the Corona camp that Aquino and his
allies will not stop until the Chief Justice is convicted of the impeachment
complaint against him.
The senator however doused fears that the President will engage in "direct
bribery" in a bid to buy out some senators who are still unsure whether they
will toe the administration line to convict Corona.
"President Noynoy will not take a chance… he will not admit defeat..." the
senator added, refusing to discuss the issue further.
Aquino already enjoys the support of some "hardliner" senators, who
are part of the administration Liberal Party, but there is need to tap other
"independent" senators to get 16 votes to convict Corona in each of the eight
articles of impeachment, the senator observed.
"Until the President and his allies are able to ensure the solid votes, then
this case will continue to drag on," the senator lamented.
The senator made the statement following Aquino's continuing attacks against
Corona before the public despite the ongoing impeachment proceedings.
The view also came amid a perception that the Aquino administration would be
deemed a weakling if it fails to convict Corona despite the President's vocal
support for his conviction and removal from office.
Barely a month since the trial started, many are growing weary with the
exchange of legalese and the swapping of charges between the opposing camps in
the impeachment court, under the stern watch of Senate President and presiding
officer Juan Ponce Enrile.
Enrile maintained he will continue to work for the search of truth without
violating Corona's basic rights in the process.
If the outcome of the 13-10 voting last Feb. 13 on the Senate decision to
respect the Supreme Court's temporary restraining order (TRO) against the
opening of Corona's foreign currency bank accounts would be used as a gauge,
some senators revealed the voting pattern for or against a Corona conviction
remains unclear.
"It was unexpected that the Senate had voted to respect the SC-TRO," the
senator noted. "The votes last Feb. 13 are not conclusive yet on how the
senator-judges will vote in the end. There are many factors that need to be
considered."
Economy first
Asked to comment on the issue, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III and
Sen. Loren Legarda said they would rather talk about the economy and the needs
of the greater majority that focus on how determined the administration is
putting Corona out of the equation.
"On the contrary, I think the presidency should best concentrate on the
economy and let the courts take care of the corruption issues. But then again,
the President dislikes comments like these, so forget it!" Sotto said.
More than winning the war against Corona, Legarda yesterday said the issue of
addressing the needs of the poor and the families devastated by disasters should
take center stage rather than the political divisiveness brought about by the
Corona trial.
"I think they are bent on winning this war and do not hide this fact from the
people. But amid this political division and tension, let us not forget the
needy, earthquake victims, sending victims aid, etc," Legarda said.
Sen. Gregorio Honasan on Saturday said he sees the need for the Senate to
ensure the integrity of the impeachment process since a conviction or an
acquittal will not end the collision course between President Aquino and Corona.
"We should be extra-careful in treading the lines before deciding the case.
We can speed up the process or slow it down, but we have to really be careful
and avoid a collision course even after a decision has been rendered," Honasan
said.
Honasan noted the issue has gone beyond the presidency and the Supreme Court
because it has impacted on the life of every Filipino.
Corona may heed Senate's call
Meanwhile, the defense lawyers said they see no problem if Corona
will be asked to stop attacks against Aquino amid the impeachment proceedings.
"The CJ and the defense team will definitely respect the request of
senators," said defense spokesman and counsel Tranquil Salvador III.
Another defense lawyer, Ramon Esguerra, said he is leaving to Corona himself
if he will or won't adhere to the suggestion of the senators.
"That is best addressed to the CJ. We can counsel him to stop if that is the
suggestion," he said.
Esguerra said the defense panel will continue its job to prove the innocence
of the chief magistrate over the accusations hurled against him by House
prosecutors.
He also downplayed the attacks of the prosecution that the defense camp had
resorted to diversionary tactics instead of answering real issues on Corona's
failure to include his multi-million time deposits in his statement of assets,
liabilities and net worth (SALN).
"We in the defense remain focused on the trial. We are not sidetracked by
their antics and fairy tales. Why should we divert the attention of the Senate
and the people from issues in the trial? That is not in our training and
discipline as litigators," Esguerra said.
Esguerra said he and his team have been respecting President Aquino every
time he opens his mouth and attacks the chief justice.
"We have respected the opinion of the President even as we differ from his
views," Esguerra stressed.
FROM MANILA STANDARD
Aquino treading on dangerous ground by Maricel
Cruz
LAWMAKERS on Sunday said President Benigno Aquino III is treading on
dangerous ground by warning senator-judges that they will pay for their decision
in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona when the elections come
in 2013.
At the same time, Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong said the President's
call for ordinary Filipinos to take a more active role in the Corona impeachment
"bordered on the illegal."
The President's pronouncements and veiled threats were clearly aimed at
marshaling public opinion to influence the impeachment court, Datumanong said.
"If the attack is followed by positive encouragement for people power, the
danger is likely to happen," Datumanong, a member of the House committee on
justice, told the Manila Standard.
In an TV interview after a series of campus tours in which he attacked Corona
last week, the President said the senators would pay the price of their vote in
the next elections.
Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño described the move as an "act of desperation."
"The President is merely stating the obvious," Casiño said.
"But for him to be the one saying such things borders on the desperate."
An administration ally, Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr., appealed to
the President to let the senator-judges do their job.
"The danger is misinterpreting Malacañang's body language as a call to go to
the streets if impeachment fails," Baguilat said.
"President Aquino should not subscribe to that strategy because he knows the
people have evolved."
Also on Sunday, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines said the President
could be impeached if it was proven that he tried to influence senator-judges
into defying a temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court to stop
the impeachment court from examining Corona's dollar accounts.
The national lawyers' association said the President could be guilty of
violating the Constitution if he had ordered Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa
to call on the senator-judges to persuade them to ignore the high court's order.
"The Constitution provides that the Senate has the sole power to try and
decide impeachment cases. Any act of the President that interferes with the
exercise by the Senate of such sole power is arguably a culpable violation of
that constitutional provision," the IBP said through its spokesman and Northern
Luzon Gov. lawyer Dennis Habawel.
"It is also a violation of the principle of separation of powers," the group
said.
Corona's defense lawyers earlier claimed that they received
information that Ochoa called some senators allegedly to transmit an urgent
personal request from the President that they ignore the high court's order in
exchange for P100 million in pork barrel.
Habawel said the President may only express opinions on the ongoing
proceedings, but may not personally do so or order any of his officials to
intervene .
"The mere expression of the President of his opinion that the Senate may
disregard the [high court order] is protected by the freedom of speech, but if
he commits acts that tend to influence the Senate to actually disregard the
[order], as in giving pork barrel projects so the senators may disregard the
[order], the President risks being impeached by Congress for culpable violation
of the Constitution," the IBP warned.
The lawyers' group criticized the President for saying Corona lied about his
assets, adding that was a premature judgment.
But House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and the Palace's allies on Sunday
defended the President and urged the Senate impeachment court to gag
senator-judges and to stop Corona from mobilizing rallies and hitting the chief
executive in his speeches.
Corona last week hit back at the President, saying he should bare his bank
accounts and medical records to show that he was mentally fit for office.
After the President drew flak for accusing the chief justice of lying in a
number of campus tours, House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said a gag
order should apply to all, even senator-judges.
"We should address the same question to the senators. They should not also
talk about the merits of the case but they also grant interviews," Gonzales
said.
"If the impeachment court wanted to stop everyone, particularly the
President, from discussing the case, let's start with the senator-judges so
everybody is covered and it is fair to all.''
"And Corona also should not be organizing rallies and speeches to hit the
President," Belmonte added.
Presiding Judge and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has reminded the
prosecution and the defense panels many times against discussing the merits of
the case outside of the impeachment court, but both sides regularly hold press
conferences after the hearings.
Gonzales said Corona's accusation that five senator-judges were biased
against him was "contemptuous" of the impeachment court and should not have been
allowed.
At the same time, Belmonte and Gonzales defended lead prosecutor and Iloilo
Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., who has repeatedly come under fire from the Senate for what
the senator-judges said was his poor preparation of the impeachment charges.
"Let's face it. The people should understand that some of these prosecutors
now may not have... experience, but this should not be taken against them," he
said. In fact, he said, the public should be impressed with the evidence they
had uncovered. With Rey E. Requejo and Christine F.
Herrera
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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