TIANGCO BROKE RANKS TESTIFIES FOR DEFENSE
[PHOTO - VOLUNTEER WITNESS Rep. Tobias
Tiangco takes his oath on Monday before testifying for the defense at the
impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona at the Senate. SENATE POOL]
MANILA,
MARCH 14, 2012 (INQUIRER) With
his colleagues watching behind him, Navotas Representative Tobias Tiangco on
Monday broke ranks and appeared as a witness for the defense panel in the
resumption of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Tiangco testified on what defense lawyer Dennis Manalo called a "pattern or
scheme" in the House of Representatives "to intimidate or exert undue influence"
on a member to support moves such as the filing of the Corona impeachment
complaint.
According to Tiangco, the administration may exert pressure on a lawmaker by
delaying or withholding his pork barrel.
A first-term congressman, Tiangco recounted how the House led by Speaker
Feliciano Belmonte cooked up the impeachment complaint during a majority caucus
on December 12, the same day Corona was impeached.
Under direct examination by Manalo, Tiangco said he had "psyched" himself up
to sign the complaint "with eyes closed" ahead of the caucus. But he said he
still did not do so after finding no "probable cause" to impeach Corona.
"I was not convinced that there was probable cause," the witness told the
impeachment court. "I understand probable cause as the probability that the
accused did what he is being accused of. How could I be convinced if there was
no document or proof being presented?"
Tiangco recalled the previous impeachment case against then Ombudsman
Merceditas Gutierrez when his "Priority Development Assistance Fund" (PDAF) was
allegedly withheld after he refused to sign the complaint prepared by the
stalwarts of President Benigno Aquino III.
"I don't want to catch the ire of the most powerful man in the country who
has a very high popularity rating, that is, the President of the Philippines,"
he said.
"The President can make life miserable for you," Tiangco added, recalling his
experience as a member of the political opposition during the nine-year regime
of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Tiangco took the witness stand despite the risk of further antagonizing his
colleagues. He earlier lost key committee posts after refusing to sign the
impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice.
The congressman downplayed the possibility of angering fellow congressmen
because of his decision to testify. "It's OK. They're supporting me," he told
the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
"No," Tiangco replied when asked about the awkward situation of testifying
against his colleagues, many of whom were sitting in the VIP section of the
Senate session hall.
Zero pork threat
House prosecutors were generally cordial to Tiangco, who even engaged in
light banter with Representative Rodolfo Fariñas during his direct examination.
Fariñas, the deputy chief prosecutor, later briefly cross-examined him.
But Cavite Representative Jose Emilio Abaya, chair manof the House committee
on appropriations, did not look amused, especially when Tiangco brought up the
Gutierrez impeachment case.
Tiangco recalled that a text message had circulated claiming that congressmen
who would not support the Gutierrez impeachment would receive "zero" PDAF, more
popularly known as "pork barrel."
Senate Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding officer, stressed he was giving the
defense a lot of "leeway" but appeared impatient about the relevance of the
Gutierrez impeachment to the Corona trial.
Manalo said Tiangco's testimony would prove that the Corona impeachment was
"politically motivated."
"We are obviously proving that there is a pattern or scheme or plant or modus
operandi with the majority of the House of Representatives to intimidate or
exert undue influence upon their other members to approve their measures such as
this impeachment case filed against Chief Justice Renato Corona," the defense
counsel said.
Tiangco recalled getting a text message from Budget Secretary Florencio
"Butch" Abad in reaction to his press release complaining about the nonrelease
of his PDAF.
"Cong. Tiangco, read your PR today re PDAF. On my own, I cannot withhold any
legislators' PDAF. I suggest you find a way to talk to PNoy (President Aquino).
The Speaker can help you along this line," the message read, a copy of which was
marked as exhibit for the defense.
Tiangco said his PDAF was eventually released shortly before he was about to
discuss the matter with Abad during a budget briefing at the House.
Last year, he said he received a text message informing congressmen about an
"all-majority caucus" on December 12 but with no agenda.
"I tried to psyche myself up. I tried to force myself to vote 'yes' in case
the matter to be tackled would be impeachment," he recalled, noting his
supposedly negative experience with the Gutierrez impeachment case.
In an ABS-CBN report, however, Abad denied that it was the administration's
policy to withhold the pork of lawmakers who did not toe the line.
Fariñas objected to Tiangco's testimony about the caucus, claiming
legislative privilege. But he was overruled.
In the caucus, Tiangco said Belmonte informed some 120 to 130 congressmen at
the Andaya Hall: "We will impeach the Chief Justice today. Chief Justice Corona
is a protégé of GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) and he would do nothing else but
to protect (her)…"
"He will be an obstacle to the good intentions of President Noynoy. Think
about it. What could the President do in his six years in office if the Supreme
Court would block his good intentions?" Belmonte added.
Tiangco said Representative Niel Tupas Jr., chairman of the House committee
on justice, later made a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation discussing the eight
articles of impeachment. But he said the presentation contained only "bullet"
points and short "narratives."
Tiangco noted that Tupas showed no document such as certifications when he
discussed, for instance, Article 2, which alleged that Corona did not publicly
disclose his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth. "I cannot sign
(the complaint) without reading it (first)," he said.
Besides the absence of proof, Tiangco said he went against the House
leadership because "I felt it was an attempt to control or to scare the Supreme
Court. It's not a simple impeachment of the Chief Justice," he added.
Enrile later sustained the prosecution's objection that Tiangco was
expressing an "opinion."
Tiangco said he particularly did not like that Belmonte told the caucus that
the Corona impeachment was "nondebatable."
"No questions will be entertained," the group was supposedly told.
"To me, it was a veiled threat," the witness said, noting that the House was
supposed to be a "deliberative body."
Before the presentation, Tiangco said Muntinlupa Representative Rodolfo
Biazon took the floor and complained in a "high voice" that while media people
knew that a caucus had been called to impeach Corona the congressmen were not
even given a copy of the impeachment complaint that they were to sign.
Tiangco also said that similarly disturbed, Cagayan de Oro Representative
Rufus Rodriguez purportedly asked if congressmen could not raise
"clarifications" after Tupas' presentation. He said Majority Leader Neptali
Gonzales II then told Rodriguez that if he had questions he should raise them on
the floor.
Belmonte supposedly replied only to Biazon's query and said that lawmakers
could secure copies of the impeachment complaint later.
Harmless rantings
In an interview with reporters, Belmonte dismissed Tiangco's "rantings" and
said his testimony was "harmless."
"What is he complaining about? He got what is due him," he said. "Tobias is
just making himself important."
Gonzales indicated that Tiangco could be subjected to disciplinary action for
unethical behavior, pointing out that he had a duty to defend the integrity of
the House.
He denied he was threatening Tiangco with expulsion. "It's just a matter of
stating what is provided for by the rules and the Constitution," Gonzales said.
"If ever there will be expulsion proceedings, I am ready to face it," Tiangco
told reporters later. "What I said is the truth. That institution must live on
truth. It cannot live on lies so it must survive on what is true."
Corona's defense lawyers condemned the expulsion threat against Tiangco.
"That is an attempt to interfere in the administration of justice," said Jose
Roy III. With reports from Cynthia D. Balana, Gil C.
Cabacungan and Marlon Ramos
FROM PHILSTAR
Senate won't junk impeach complaint By Marvin Sy
and Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star) Updated March 13, 2012 12:00 AMC
[PHOTO - Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco stretches his legs during a break
on the 27th day of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona at the
Senate yesterday.]
MANILA, Philippines - The first witness for Chief Justice Renato Corona
testified yesterday that he was not shown the impeachment complaint at the House
of Representatives before being asked to sign it – something that would render
the complaint invalid.
Even before Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco testified for the defense, however,
the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, refused to throw out the
impeachment complaint, with senators pointing out that it was already too late
for this.
Tiangco said Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. had told members of the House of
Representatives at a caucus in December last year that Corona "is a protégé of
GMA (former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo)" and would be impeached on that
day.
"This is non-debatable. No questions will be entertained," Tiangco quoted
Belmonte as saying. Tiangco did not sign the complaint.
Belmonte disputed the story and said House members were merely advised to
vote however they pleased.
Tiangco said when Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon complained that congressmen
were being asked to sign an impeachment complaint that they had not even read,
Belmonte allegedly told them they could get their copies later: "Ginagawa pa sa
likod, kumuha na lang kayo mamaya (It's still being printed in the back, get
your copies later)."
Instead lead prosecutor Niel Tupas of Iloilo gave a PowerPoint presentation
of the eight Articles of Impeachment in "bullet points" with accompanying
"narrative," Tiangco said.
Tiangco also claimed Malacañang had used the congressional pork barrel to
punish those who didn't go along with the impeachment of Merceditas Gutierrez as
ombudsman. The insinuation was that fear of similar sanctions prompted 188
members to sign the impeachment complaint against Corona.
"Hindi po ako pumipirma kung hindi ako bumabasa (I don't sign if I don't read
it)," he said, recalling that he eventually made a privilege speech the next
day, condemning the act.
Meanwhile, the Senate impeachment court rejected yesterday the latest attempt
of the defense to throw out the Articles of Impeachment.
The defense was hoping to present witnesses to show that the impeachment
complaint against Corona was invalid because it failed to comply with the
requirements of the Constitution.
In a ruling, the court denied the defense's applications to subpoena the
secretary-general of the House of Representatives, lawmakers and the staff of a
cable television news program on grounds that the court had already settled the
matters involved in the pleadings in a previous ruling.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, impeachment court presiding officer, said
the Senate had already acquired jurisdiction over the case, and that the trial
has already reached an advance stage.
"The purpose of the subpoena is to present evidence on the circumstances of
the verification of the Articles of Impeachment, which has been previously ruled
on by this court when it considered the motion for preliminary hearing filed by
the defense," he said. "The request is hereby denied. It is the opinion of this
court that it is too late to raise the question of the verification at this
point."
Retired Supreme Court associate justice Serafin Cuevas, the lead defense
counsel, said Corona was not given due process when the impeachment complaint
was transmitted without any notice to him, as well as hear his side.
"The due process clause enshrined in our fundamental law is a condition sine
qua non that cannot be ignored in any proceeding," he said. "It is a matter of
fact that there was no determination of probable cause. In other words, there
were no evidences, there were no allegations that would prove the existence of
probable cause and yet the public officer involved was immediately impeached."
Sen. Joker Arroyo said the impeachment complaint, once it secures the
required signatures of one-third of all the members of the House and is
transmitted to the Senate, the upper chamber has no choice but to accept it.
"What is the objective in filing this motion?" he asked. "As I see it,
supposing the Senate will grant your request, if the allegation is true, the
Senate has to dismiss the complaint?"
"In the prosecution of (President Joseph) Estrada, the same issue arose. What
the House transmits to Senate, defects and all, will have to be accepted by the
Senate because the Senate cannot direct the House on how to make an impeachment
complaint," he added.
Sen. Franklin Drilon said the defense arguments were the same as those
contained in their motion for a preliminary hearing that the Senate had denied.
"The Jan. 18, 2012 ruling of this court categorically validated the
verification," he said.
"If there was no need to present evidence on the matter of the preliminary
hearing, there is no need to present evidence on the affirmative defenses.
"So it was not true that it was only the motion for preliminary hearing that
was denied, it is the validity of the verification itself that was ruled upon.
"The purpose, obviously, of a hearing on the affirmative defense, is to have
the case dismissed because of lack of verification, which has been ruled upon by
this court on Jan. 18, 2012."
Cuevas responded, "If that commentary was made by the members of the
prosecution arm, we would have no objection. We are worried that this may be
interpreted as an argument by a prosecutor."
Drilon shot back that he took exception to the statement of Cuevas as
"totally improper."
Sen. Francis Escudero wanted the court to be more liberal and allow the
defense to present some members of the House, as long as it would limit its
presentation to no more than three to five members as Cuevas had stated.
Escudero said the concern of the court was that the defense might present all
188 signatories to the complaint and bog down the proceedings.
"But if it is to set the tone of the impeachment case, and you will not
present all 188, some bending over may be given (by the court to the defense
panel)," he said.
The defense intends to call as adverse witnesses Representatives Romero
Quimbo of Marikina, Lorenzo Tañada III of Quezon and Joseph Emilio Abaya of
Cavite, Cuevas said.
The defense, in trying to seek a dismissal of the impeachment complaint, had
intended to argue that non-compliance with requirements in the impeachment
process, including rules on verification of the lawmakers' signatures on the
complaint, rendered it defective.
Tiangco also linked President Aquino and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad in
the alleged "pattern to pressure" congressmen into signing important measures in
the House of Representatives, including impeachment complaints.
The Navotas congressman, a first-termer, also cited text messages and
communication with Abad inquiring about delays in the release of his Priority
Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations after he decided not to sign the
verified complaint against Corona last Dec. 12, 2011.
Dennis Manalo, the lawyer designated by the defense to present the witness,
explained to the court the need to make Tiangco take the witness stand in a bid
to create "reasonable doubt" on the integrity of the complaint.
"There are two points… first, the testimony will tend to prove that the
grounds relied upon in the Articles of Impeachment are not substantial or do not
rise to the level of the impeachment offense," Manalo said.
"And actually, our second reason is to question the integrity not only of the
complaint but also of the complainants so as to create a doubt that will later
on prove to be invaluable to the senator-judges when they decide whether or not
to convict or acquit the impeached officer," Manalo explained.
"To us, your honor, this creates a reasonable doubt and this will be material
in the evaluation that will be made by the senator-judges when the time comes,"
Manalo said.
Manalo made the manifestation after Sen. Francis Pangilinan sought a
clarification on the relevance of Tiangco's testimony to Corona's defense.
Apart from Pangilinan, Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Sen.
Aquilino Pimentel III also sought clarification.
Earlier in the trial, Manalo cited "proof or pattern of scheme that took
place in the House with regard to the filing of the impeachment complaints."
Ilocos Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, one of the prosecutors, sought to strike off
Manalo's statement but he was overruled by Enrile who argued that "the court is
intelligent enough to evaluate these things."
Prosecution spokesman Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara pointed out that the
prosecution sees "nothing damaging in Tiangco's testimony."
"It is not beneficial to the defense of Chief Justice Corona," Angara said.
Prior to the signing of the complaint last Dec. 12, Tiangco revealed that he
received text message from a staff member of Belmonte informing him of a caucus.
Tinagco also quoted Belmonte as saying, in Filipino, that "he (Corona) will
just protect GMA and that he would be a big hindrance to the good intentions of
President Aquino."
"I felt it was not a simple impeachment of the CJ, but an attempt to control
the Supreme Court," said Tiangco.
In his testimony, Tiangco recalled that during the impeachment case of
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, Rep. Abaya had declared that those who would not
sign the complaint would get "zero" PDAF.
According to Tiangco, the records of the House of the Representatives will
bear him out on the issue.
Tiangco said he received a text message from Abad telling him that "I alone
cannot withhold the PDAF release."
Tiangco said the budget secretary reminded him that Belmonte could help him
establish a line with the President.
Tiangco identified Abad's cellphone mobile number during trial.
Shortly after being interviewed by media on the issue of "pressure" and
non-release of his pork barrel, Tiangco said he again received a text message
from Abad wherein he was directed to get his SARO at the Speaker's office.
Rep. Fariñas tried to block Tiangco from testifying on the matters considered
part of legislative privilege.
Enrile also asked the defense a number of times to explain.
Manalo said that Tiangco was testifying on the "pressure that he received for
the approval of the impeachment complaint against Merceditas Gutierrez" and that
"there is a pattern or scheme or modus operandi with majority to intimidate or
exert undue influence to approve their measures such as impeachment."
Fariñas said Tiangco did not even sign the complaint
Near the end of the trial, Cuevas also asked the court to issue a subpoena to
three other congressmen - Hermilando Mandanas of Batangas, Cavite's Crispin
Remulla and Cagayan de Oro's Rufus Rodriguez - to appear before the Senate body.
Sen. Franklin Drilon moved to have the same discussed in the caucus because
this would entail the issue of inter-parliamentary courtesy.
Defense spokesman Tranquil Salvador III explained that the goal was to show
that the impeachment complaint was "hastily signed without the reading and
consequent oath required by the Constitution."
Evidence accepted
The Senate has accepted almost all the exhibits offered by the prosecution
panel as evidence in the impeachment trial.
But senator-judges kept their reservation yesterday on the presentation of
the dollar accounts of Corona at Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) later on in
the trial.
At the same time, the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, denied the
motion of the defense panel to acquit the Chief Justice on Articles 1, 4, 5, 6
and 8 of the Articles of Impeachment since the prosecution would no longer
pursue these in the trial.
On day 27 of the trial, the court announced its ruling that only documents
related to the platinum cards of Corona and his wife Ma. Cristina from
Philippine Airlines (PAL) would be excluded because these serve no purpose in
the case.
The PAL documents were related to the allegation of the prosecution that
Corona and his wife received perks and privileges from PAL even when there was a
pending case before the Supreme Court between the Flight Attendants and Stewards
Association of the Philippines and the airline.
Reading from the ruling, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said the
offer of the prosecution on these documents was disallowed as being improper
because they tend to prove bribery, which is not part of the allegations against
Corona.
The Senate had previously ruled that the issue of the benefits from PAL would
not be considered and in fact, PAL vice president for sales Enrique Javier was
not allowed to testify by the court.
With the ruling of the Senate, all of the exhibits offered by the
prosecution, including the peso accounts of the Chief Justice at PSBank, would
be admitted as evidence.
The bank documents were presented in support of Article 2 of the Articles of
Impeachment, which alleges that the Chief Justice did not disclose his
statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) to the public as
required by the Constitution.
Based on what was presented by PSBank president Pascual Garcia III and the
bank's Katipunan branch manager Annabelle Tiongson during the trial, questions
were raised on the discrepancies between the amounts that were in the accounts
and the entries made by Corona in his SALN.
In the case of the dollar accounts, the prosecution was barred from securing
these after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) in
response to a petition filed by PSBank.
The Senate voted to respect the TRO issued by the Supreme Court (SC) and
filed its response to the petition through the Office of the Solicitor General.
If and when the SC decides to lift the TRO, the prosecution would be allowed
to present the dollar accounts as evidence to the court even though they have
already ended their presentation of evidence.
On the matter of the five Articles of Impeachment that the prosecution has
decided to forgo by waiving presentation of evidence, the Senate ruled that it
would no longer take any action on this.
The defense panel asked the impeachment court to formally dismiss the five
articles, which would in effect acquit the Chief Justice on the allegations
contained in those articles.
However, Enrile said that the senator-judges have decided not to entertain
and act on the motion of the defense to dismiss the charges in the five
articles.
Enrile said that the prosecution and the defense would no longer be allowed
to present any witnesses and evidence for those five articles and senator-judges
would no longer be voting on any of the five Articles of Impeachment.
The prosecution ended its presentation of witnesses and evidence on Articles
2, 3 and 7 only, confident that they already had enough to secure a conviction
of Corona on these three articles alone.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
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