AUDIENCE / NO PROOF ON 45 ASSETS OF CJ
MANILA,
FEBRUARY 4, 2012 (INQUIRER) By
Michael Lim Ubac —Empty seats and a sleepy audience marked the 11th day of Chief
Justice Renato Corona's impeachment trial.
Former Senators Ernesto Maceda and Francisco Tatad, who have
been religiously attending the trial since it started on January16, sat
stoically in the gallery reserved for Senate guests.
Noticeably gone from the VIP gallery were Maceda and Tatad's former
colleagues in the Senate, and other high-profile personalities who attended the
opening of the trial.
Former President Joseph Estrada turned up at the Senate on Wednesday, but did
not enter the session hall. His wife, former Senator Luisa Estrada, was in the
VIP gallery on the first day.
Boredom was obvious on the faces of a handful of prosecutors and leaders of
the House of Representatives seated behind Maceda and Tatad.
The VIP gallery is in the rear portion of the hall, which serves as a
backdrop for the witness stand as seen on TV.
On Thursday, the gallery seats on both sides of the hall were occupied by a
half-awake audience composed of concerned citizens, members of the senators'
staffs, and reporters.
An exasperated Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile urged the prosecutors to
speed up the authentication of their evidence via subpoenaed witnesses,
repeatedly telling them to "hasten the proceedings."
The senator-judges pleaded with both the defense and the prosecution to end
the repetitive debates over rules and procedures by submitting their respective
memoranda instead of engaging in verbal tussles on the floor.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said that at the rate
the trial was being conducted, he expected it to last beyond the Lenten season
in April. "That's possible," he said in an interview.
"But the session break is the break. If we don't finish by March 23, we will
resume on May 7," he said, referring to Congress' six-week Lenten break.
Senator Loren Legarda echoed Sotto's apprehension.
"We have a long way to go because of the many articles and the hundred
witnesses. Compared to the first two weeks, it's becoming smoother…. But still
we would want a more efficient process," she said.
Legarda said the prosecution should be more "direct to the point."
"The issues in the eight articles of impeachment are very clear. We want the
evidence and testimony to support the articles of impeachment so that we can
make a decision for or against the case," she said.
Interviewed during a break in the trial, Maceda blamed the slow pace on both
the defense and the prosecution.
He observed that the prosecution had "not been very effective," and that the
defense had "better lawyers."
Maceda also said the behavior of many of the senator-judges was likewise a
problem: "Part of the delay is the [senators' insistence] on asking questions
even if the Senate president already said, 'Let's hear the prosecution and the
defense first.' No, that's not being followed."
He noted that if eight senators would stand at one time, with each taking
"usually one long minute of three or five minutes," almost an hour of the trial
would be taken up by their questions.
Noting the absence of other guests at the VIP gallery, Maceda said: "I cannot
answer for them. The only reason I'm here … [is] I record in my [newspaper]
column what's happening, and I have a radio program."
Tatad, who writes a column in another newspaper, agreed that many people—both
inside and outside the Senate impeachment court—were losing interest in the
televised proceedings.
"That looks like it. Even the televiewers are [getting impatient]," he said.
Asked to elaborate, he said "very tedious details" were being discussed in
the trial. He said this strategy "doesn't fire up the enthusiasm of the people."
Recalling Estrada's impeachment trial, Tatad said: "The charge there, for
example, was 'jueteng.' That's illegal money … from gambling, a very serious
charge."
But for all its slow pace, the current trial still appeals to the former
senator.
"I'm writing a book [on it, but] I missed one day when I stood as godfather
in Tagaytay last Wednesday," he said.
He vowed to maintain a front-seat view of the proceedings "for as long as I
can … because I'd like to witness everything if I'm going to write about it. The
flavor should be there."
COMMENTARY FROM PHILSTAR
Bored crowds at the arena PER CHANCE By Cito
Beltran (photo below) (The Freeman) Updated January 31, 2012 12:00 AM
The crowds are bored, the TV stations and radio stations are
panicking, and the Emperor's people are desperately calling upon citizens to
stay tuned. Unfortunately since there has been no quick kill at the arena,
viewership ratings are disastrous.
Despite all efforts and statements from Malacañang drumbeaters, in spite of
the non-stop self-promotion of the Congressional Prosecution team, there has
been no quick kill or great scores for the home team.
In spite of their home-court advantage, the Prosecution team and Malacañang
have failed to turn the tide of boredom and disinterest in the impeachment trial
of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Even some TV hosts have tried to appeal to people to watch and take interest
in the coverage because the outcome will benefit succeeding generations of
Filipinos. Unfortunately none of that has worked.
A recent survey has come out showing that viewership of the impeachment has
waned and anecdotally speaking, most people seem to watch only in passing. Most
of those who watch do so out of curiosity and to learn a new legal angle or
phrase.
Otherwise, people are actually using their time doing something more
important or relevant to their daily lives, like earning a living.
This is certainly disastrous for the major networks who were counting on
having two to six months more of this "free" made for TV political reality show.
If the drop in viewership continues, the TV stations will now have to go back to
expensive regular programing and just rely on their reporters for updates.
The networks mistake is that they treated the impeachment trial of the Chief
Justice much the same way they cover the fights of boxing champion Manny
Pacquiao or the one-sided investigations conducted by Congress in the past.
In both events someone always draws blood and someone always gets hurt. The
Impeachment trial however is something more intellectual, legalistic and
requiring more than blow-by-blow accounts.
In order to make the coverage and the dialogues therein relevant, the
networks need to bring in competent, UNBIASED lawyers and professors of law who
can go beyond recounting the process but enlightening people on the relevance
and impact of the process on the case and upon ordinary individuals because that
is what legal proceedings are about; a process that defines or redefines the law
and the impact of evidence. The coverage should be a show and tell, teach and
learn approach.
To drive the point home one particular station always calls on a law
professor to expound on the impeachment process and the professor more than
expounds but opinionates. Our opinion has no bearing on the proceedings and
simply serves to taint or put color on the integrity or competency of the people
involved.
We need to teach not opinionate as far as the coverage of the trial is
concerned.
The waning interest in the impeachment may be momentary but if it stretches
to more than a week or two, it may be ominous in a way.
When the general population becomes disinterested in the process, they will
most likely be disinterested or detached with the outcome.
***
There is a loud whisper that Congressman Rudy Farinas may soon be taking over
as lead Prosecutor in the trial. I will not make any conjecture as to "why" this
may happen, but if it does, it will have the equivalent effect of openly
admitting and confirming that the impeachment team is truly weak and
incompetent.
Even before the fact, Farinas should seriously consider that some
"opportunities" might bite you.
First of all, I remember Manong Rudy saying or being quoted as saying that he
himself did not sign the impeachment complaint for the purpose of showing his
objectivity. Some ordinary people are already challenging if someone who has
committed the sin of Omission should be commissioned to lead the case.
Personally, I worry that Farinas who is considered a very good lawyer might
be set-up to feel like the mythical David versus Goliath, only to find himself
squashed on the battlefield while the "army" runs for cover.
In addition to that, there is the distinct possibility that Farinas could
find himself further frustrated by the Supreme Court. So far the SC has kept out
of the fight or the trial of their Chief Justice because Corona's team has been
doing a superb job.
But that does not preclude the Supreme Court from issuing a TRO, locking
horns with Malacañang and Congress and getting into a full scale Constitutional
crisis, if the SC feels that their Chief Justice is being unfairly treated or is
being lynched.
Bored' Santiago 'ready to rumble' at Corona impeach trial
By Christian Esguerra, Maila Ager INQUIRER.net, Philippine Daily
Inquirer 11:16 am | Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
MANILA, Philippines – From hypertension to "terminal boredom."
This was how Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago described her return to the
Senate from a weeklong absence due to hypertension and declared in her Twitter
account that she was "ready to rumble".
"Thanks to all of you who sent me well-wishes and prayed for my health. I'm
ready to rumble," she said.
"I'm suffering from terminal boredom…" said Santiago of the ongoing
impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, much of which last week was
spent marking exhibits to be presented as evidence against Corona.
Santiago, who would later on leave the Senate to serve as a judge on the
International Criminal Court, made it clear early on that she would be a passive
observer during the proceedings, which she described as "pretty unstructured"
thus far.
Citing the idea that "the presence of the observer changes the observed," she
said the complexion of the proceedings was affected by live television coverage.
"You know, if you shut down all the TV cameras, the proceedings will be
finished in one week," she said at a press conference before the trial. "But
people want more than 15 (minutes) of fame."
Santiago missed the first week of the trial because of hypertension. But she
said she followed the proceedings on TV, and pointed out that "the public is not
thrilled to watch the marking of evidence."
"It will really raise my blood pressure, but in any event, I have to come
because this is my duty as a senator and I have no choice," she said. "Believe
me, I would really rather go scuba diving in the Bermuda Triangle and possibly
get lost there."
Seriously though, the senator said, she would work to expedite the
proceedings, noting that "the longer [the trial] takes, the more prejudice it
works for the defendant." To achieve this, she said technicalities should be
minimized and the prosecution should improve the flow of its presentation.
Santiago threw her support behind calls to conduct the trial in Filipino. She
suggested that the presiding officer conduct a weekly briefing explaining to the
public, in simple and understandable terms, developments in the proceedings.
"The exchanges should be in Tagalog that would be understood, not only by the
witness – normally these are very highly educated and well-versed in English –
but by those that watch television," she said.
Santiago has a theory on why the Corona trial has not been as gripping as
that of former President Joseph Estrada 11 years ago.
"There is no immediate intimacy with the chief justice because we never
elected him unlike a president," she said. "In the Estrada impeachment trial,
there was much interest because people had voted him into office."
Santiago also minced no words when she fired at people, whom she described as
"epal" [thick face]."
These "epal," she said, were now visible during the Corona trial.
No proof on '45 assets' of Renato Corona; Prosecution
admission elates defense lawyers By Cathy C. Yamsuan, Christian V.
Esguerra, Marlon Ramos Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:45 am | Friday, February
3rd, 2012
[PHOTO - In Thursday's proceedings, Senators Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada and
Francis Escudero put Tupas on the spot for announcing before the opening of the
trial the purported 45 properties owned by Corona and his family. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO]
The prosecution's disclosure on Thursday that it would be unable to present
proof of Chief Justice Renato Corona's supposed 45 properties has put it in "a
very difficult situation," according to the defense.
"It's good that [this is] being brought up now. The truth is now out," Ramon
Esguerra, one of Corona's lawyers, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer during a
break in the 11th day of the trial.
Esguerra said some of the supposed properties were "actually not [registered]
under Corona's name, particularly the one in McKinley Hill [in Taguig City]."
Asked about the effect of the admission of the House lead prosecutor,
Representative Niel Tupas Jr., vis-à-vis the allegations stated in Article 2,
Esguerra said: "I don't want to make any judgment. But they are now faced with a
very difficult situation."
In reply to a question, Tranquil Salvador III, spokesperson for the defense,
said the prosecution's admission was unexpected.
"We did not expect it because we just live by the day," Salvador said. "But
we are surprised that sometimes some things happen that favor us. We don't claim
victory, but this is good for us and the country."
Salvador also said it was "a happy day" for the defense "because we have
senators who are able to rise beyond political affiliation."
"We hope this will continue in the succeeding days," he told reporters.
Eduardo de los Angeles, also of the defense, pointed out that Corona only
owned five properties "and three of four parking slots."
"We also checked the list when [the prosecutors] claimed that Corona had 45
properties. We found out that there was double counting and that some titles
were already canceled," De los Angeles said. "That's why we don't understand why
the canceled titles were still in the list."
De los Angeles said the prosecutors should have presented an official of the
Land Registration Authority (LRA) if they wanted to prove that Corona was indeed
the owner of the properties listed.
Trial outside faster
The prosecutors got a beating of sorts from the senator-judges for supposedly
continuing to argue their case and presenting evidence against the Chief Justice
outside the impeachment court.
Senators Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada and Francis Escudero put
Tupas on the spot for announcing before the opening of the trial the purported
45 properties owned by Corona and his family.
Senator Gregorio Honasan said both the defense and the
prosecution should be "bound" by an existing order that they not discuss the
merits of the case before the public and the media.
"Apparently, the trial outside the courtroom is proceeding faster than the
trial inside the court," he said.
Under questioning by Escudero, Tupas denied that the list of Corona's alleged
45 properties was divulged by the prosecution. He said the disclosure was made
in a letter from the LRA, a copy of which was attached to the prosecution's
request for subpoena submitted on January 12.
Gotcha
"So far, we have presented 21 properties [including parking lots]. We might
present more. But we are not bound by [those] 45 properties from the [LRA],"
Tupas told the court.
When the trial resumed after a 15-minute break, Estrada confronted Tupas on
his denial that the prosecution had nothing to do with the release of the LRA
information.
During the break, Estrada said he saw TV footage of Tupas and his fellow
prosecutors, including their spokespersons, "showing to the media the list of
the 45 properties."
"So it's not true that the list released to the media did not come from him
because he even had a picture-taking [with the list]. It was seen on TV,"
Estrada said in Filipino.
"These people are putting the members of the impeachment court on the spot.
We [and the public] are being made to believe that the Chief Justice owns 45
properties. But here in court, it turns out that there are probably only 24
properties, including parking lots, under his name. The others are under the
names of his children," he said.
'I don't know him'
Estrada emphasized that he was not "defending" Corona.
"I don't know him. In fact, he [was] one of those who conspired to oust my
father [former President Joseph Estrada] from office. What I'm only saying is
that we need to be fair in this court. Let us not lie," he said.
In an appeal apparently directed to the prosecutors, Senate President Juan
Ponce Enrile, the presiding officer, said they should "respect the rights of the
accused."
Tupas admitted to releasing only a document pertaining to Corona's penthouse
unit in the Bellagio at a press conference on January 3, or days before the
impeachment court warned both camps against discussing the merits of the case in
public.
The Senate Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials state that senator-judges
and counsels "shall refrain from making any comments and disclosures in public
pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial."
Responding to Estrada, Tupas said: "With respect to the [45] properties, I
never released [them]. There's no picture with the media. No press conference.
It was an attachment with the request to subpoena, which was filed around three
days before January 16."
Enrile reminded the lawyer-politicians involved in the trial that they were
"still agents of the court."
"We must behave in accordance with the ethics of our profession and I would
like to appeal to everybody, both sides, to observe the norms of ethical conduct
that is required of us as lawyers of this country. So ordered," he said.
Is offense impeachable?
Senator Joker Arroyo challenged the prosecutors to offer evidence
"that has reached the level of an impeachable offense" after it was established
that a mere correction of Corona's statements of assets, liabilities and net
worth (SALNs) could spare him from criminal and administrative sanctions.
Arroyo issued the challenge after a House prosecutor, Representative Elpidio
Barzaga, insisted that Corona's failure to "accurately" declare the acquisition
cost of some properties amounted to "the highest form of betrayal of public
trust."
But a check made by Senator Ralph Recto with the Civil Service
Commission's rules and regulations showed that if an official required by law to
submit a SALN made an erroneous entry, he "shall not be sanctioned" if he made a
correction "in good faith."
"I am happy this discussion arose," Arroyo said, rising after the
cross-examination of prosecution witness Sedfrey Garcia, registrar of deeds of
Marikina City.
Garcia testified on the seven parcels of land that Corona and his wife
allegedly owned in Marikina.
Arroyo also reminded his colleagues that "not every offense [or] omission is
an impeachable offense."
"The responsibility of the prosecution is to present evidence that would
amount to an impeachable offense, and the defense must also defuse it.
Otherwise, if the evidence presented here is just any kind of evidence, I don't
think that is fair to the Senate, because our criteria is an impeachable
offense," he said.
Arroyo pointed out that US President Bill Clinton was impeached by the US
House of Representatives, which elevated it to the Senate.
Of a higher bar
"When the Senate heard [the complaint], it said it did not amount to an
impeachable offense," he recalled.
Turning to the House prosecutors, Arroyo said: "Give us evidence that has
reached the level of an impeachable offense. As I keep repeating, it's not just
any offense. It must be of a higher bar because we are removing a Chief Justice.
"Give us something to hang on to. Otherwise we would go astray in the course
of the proceedings."
Escudero echoed Arroyo's remarks, telling the prosecutors: "You cannot be
inconsistent or have a double standard … We might be wasting time discussing
crimes that may not be impeachable.
"Assuming that the Chief Justice was caught jaywalking on video. That is a
violation of law but is that the nature of impeachment? Or if he gives P500 to
someone in the [Land Transportation Office]—is this in the nature of an
impeachment? Kindly educate us on the gravity and level of crimes that would be
considered impeachable."
Barzaga's insistence that Corona committed the "highest form" of betrayal of
public trust came after a discussion on which valuation of his properties should
be included in his SALNs.
"The charge [under Article 2] is nondisclosure of assets [in the SALNs]. What
should [Corona] have specifically reported, and what amount? The zonal value?
The assessed value? Or that which appears in the deed of sale?" Senator Alan
Peter Cayetano said.
Is it high crime?
Barzaga noted that Corona's SALNs from 2002 to 2010 "left some blanks insofar
as the acquisition cost is concerned."
"Under the Constitution, the Chief Justice is required to file SALNs. Also,
when the highest official in the judiciary does not declare accurately … then we
think that would be the highest form of betrayal of public trust," Barzaga said.
"According to the Supreme Court, if there has been omission or not a faithful
or true declaration of the properties … the filer would be liable for perjury
since his statement was made under oath and there is a certification at the last
portion that all the statements contained are true and correct," he said.
"If it's a crime, is it a high crime?" Enrile asked.
"No, your honor," Barzaga said.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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