PHNO-HL: CORONA NEARS JUDGMENT DAY / ADDRESSING THE PUBLIC

CORONA NEARS JUDGMENT DAY /
ADDRESSING THE PUBLIC
[PHOTO -Chief Justice
Renato Corona. INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS
ORBETA]
MANILA, MAY 24, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Christian
V. Esguerra, TJ Burgonio - With most of the senator-judges having
purportedly "made up their minds," the fate of Chief Justice Renato Corona in
his impeachment trial will be known by early next week.
A day after the diabetic Corona unceremoniously left the witness stand
purportedly prompted by a spell of dizziness due to low blood sugar, Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday gave the Chief Justice until 2 p.m.
Friday to return to the witness stand for the continuation of his testimony.

"We will grant you (the chance) to finish your evidence. After that, if you
do not submit your evidence, we will consider the matter submitted on the
record," Enrile, the presiding officer, told the defense panel on Day 41 of the
impeachment trial.
Enrile set the oral arguments for both the defense and the prosecution on
Monday, after which the court could immediately rule on whether to acquit or
convict Corona over charges of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation
of the Constitution.
"We will render a decision thereafter or maybe, at the very latest, on
Tuesday. So ordered," said Enrile, who made it clear that the ruling could no
longer be reconsidered.
Under the rules, the defense and the prosecution would each be given one hour
for the oral argument.
Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said both camps could designate two
speakers each and use the time allotted to them "as you wish."
16 senators to convict
On judgment day, Enrile said each of the 23 senator-judges would be asked
about his or her decision and would be given an extendable two minutes to
explain the vote. A vote of 16 senators is required to convict.
"I think majority of the senator-judges have already made up their minds,"
Senate President Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada told reporters after
Wednesday's trial, which lasted for only around 30 minutes. "I already know what
my decision will be."
Corona, a longtime diabetic with two bypass surgeries in the past, was still
confined at the intensive care unit of The Medical City in Pasig City due to the
"hypoglycemic episode" he suffered soon after delivering a three-hour "opening
statement" on Tuesday.
The Chief Justice left the witness stand without being formally discharged,
angering a number of senators, including Enrile who immediately ordered the
sergeant at arms to lock the doors of the Senate.
Corona's "walkout" had nothing to do with the court's deadline for the chief
magistrate's appearance, some senators said.
"There's been speculation about whether it's walkout or not. But
senator-judges don't think that way. It can never be a retaliatory move or a
reaction move. It's more in keeping with the schedule. There's no reason for us
to change the schedule," Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said.
Enrile abandons threat
Enrile appeared to have reversed his position when he announced that he would
allow Corona's opening statement on Tuesday to form "part of his testimony and
defense in chief."
An angry Enrile on Tuesday warned that Corona's testimony would be stricken
off the record unless he would submit himself to cross examination.
On Wednesday, Estrada said that Enrile had rejected at the last minute a
suggestion that a Senate medical team examine Corona in his hospital bed,
relying on the integrity of the defense report on condition of the Chief
Justice.
Representative Niel Tupas Jr., the chief House prosecutor, told the court
that his camp, which had been taunting Corona to testify, was willing to forgo
the cross-examination.
But the lead defense counsel, Serafin Cuevas, said he still wanted to conduct
a direct examination of the Chief Justice.
Cayetano asked Cuevas whether the defense would provide documentary evidence
to support Corona's narrative.
Cuevas replied, "The testimony will lie entirely on his credibility and
validity of his assertions."
Under sedation
Cuevas profusely apologized in open court for Corona's failure to appear at
Wednesday's hearing. He said he and other defense lawyers had gone to the
hospital to check on Corona, but were told that he was "sedated" and unavailable
for consultation.
Cuevas said he had been assured by the family that the Chief Justice was
"willing to be back" to continue his testimony and be placed under
cross-examination.
"But the stumbling block against that desire of the Chief Justice is his
mental and physical condition," he explained before submitting a copy of the
medical bulletin on Corona to the impeachment court.
"I don't think that his condition will warrant an intelligible examination,
whether direct or cross examination."
Cuevas also apologized for Corona's decision to leave the stand without
Enrile's clearance, saying "we never anticipated these things."
"(But) I want to adhere to the rule that investigate first before
condemning," he said, before Enrile cut him off. The Senate President said
Corona would be asked about the incident upon his return.
Senator Edgardo Angara, whose son, Representative Juan Edgardo Angara was
among the House spokespersons who had lashed out at Corona relentlessly in the
past four months in defiance of the Senate tribunal's injunction against
discussing the merits of the case in public, believed that Corona's abrupt
departure on Tuesday was premeditated, and didn't help his cause.
"That kind of scenario is almost like toying and playing with the process of
the impeachment court," Angara told reporters. He said Corona was fortunate
Enrile "kept his cool."
'I'm no thief'
On the witness stand, Corona denied prosecution charges he had $10 million to
$12 million in bank deposits, had illegally amassed assets and had failed to
disclose them truthfully.
"I'm no thief, no criminal. I've done no wrong. But I am also no fool," he
said. Corona then signed a waiver for the examination of all his assets on
condition that the 188 representatives who signed the impeachment complaint and
his arch critic Senator Franklin Drilon do the same. The lawmakers spurned his
challenge.
Corona said for the past five months President Benigno Aquino III had
mobilized the entire government machinery to malign him "24/7" after the
Cojuangco family lost its sprawling sugar plantation in an adverse Supreme Court
decision last November. He decried that laws had been trampled to prosecute him
and declared that as chief magistrate and defender of the rule of law this was
unacceptable to him.
Estrada acknowledged that Corona's abrupt departure, without Enrile's
permission, might have a bearing on the verdict of the senator-judges.
"When he testified, he was not the Chief Justice. He was an ordinary witness
so he should have shown respect to the court," Estrada added.
FROM THE TRIBUNE
Addressing the public FRONTLINE Ninez
Cacho-Olivares 05/24/2012
Clearly, the Chief Justice, in testifying before the Senate court was
not just addressing the court, but the Filipino people, who were a captive
audience on that day, as he bared his family's side on the Basa-Guidote feud,
which probably went over big — as a telenovela goes.
Still, Chief Justice Renato Corona must have felt that his family's side must
be aired, since this Basa feud was made public in interviews given by one Ana
Basa with too many charges made against the Coronas.
That side of the Basa family was there during the testimony of the Chief
Justice and while the family members complained that Corona's attack was a low
blow, as Jose Basa lll was already dead and could not defend himself, the truth
is that the Basa family members, notably Ana, started these attacks on the
Coronas while giving the media interviews, knowing then that the Coronas would
not reply officially to these charges aired by Ana Basa.
In the end, with the Basas crying, they claimed that they would not answer
those accusations made by the Chief Justice, as they would not go down to his
level, even when they clearly did by bringing out the Basa dirty linen.
The trouble seems to be that the court cases — involving the alleged transfer
of a Libis lot and its sale said to have been worth some P2.5 billion to Jose
Basa lll, cutting off an heir, Cristina Corona, from the sale of the property.

This has been questioned in court and there has been no resolution as yet.

But all these stem from the publicity given to administration-friendly media,
who cashed in on the Ana Basa interview, obviously to make the Coronas look like
land-grabbers, if not thieves.
This issue in fact was brought out during the trial, with the sale of a
Basa-Guidote Enterprise Inc. property for P34.7 million, which check was made
out to Cristina Corona in trust for BGEI, over which Ana Basa came up with her
charges.
It is on record that the prosecution even spoke of getting the Basas as a
rebuttal witness, all done of course for publicity.
Frankly, the Chief Justice's opening statement was much too long, but he did
explain a lot of things clearly — on his side of the matter — even if such was
lengthy.
This is perhaps why he spoke of the alleged conspiracy by the Palace to oust
him, complete with a recitation on the reasons Noynoy wants his out and the
ambition of another justice, who wants his position.
He came off as hurt, sincere and determined to disprove the charges aired
against him, especially those made by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales who had
alleged that Corona had at least 82 bank accounts and $12 million worth in these
banks.
In that, Corona successfully showed just how devious Carpio-Morales and
Noynoy's auditor, Commission on Audit Commissioner Heidi Mendoza, as their
"analysis" was obviously done to make it appear that Corona had illegally hidden
wealth stashed in his accounts, in effect accusing him of money laundering,
coupled with the prosecution's claim that Corona was a professional money
launderer.
What was clearly omitted by the Ombudsman and the CoA auditor was the fact
that several accounts from transactions in his foreign exchange investments,
were already closed and transferred to the main accounts — which Corona said
only numbered four, and not 82 and that there was no such amount as $10 million.

That was pretty close to evidence that there were Malacañang and allied
forces out to portray the Chief Justice as guilty of not only coming up with
inaccurate information on his statement of assets and liabilities, but also on
his alleged illegal wealth.
If these are not low blows against the Chief Justice, what are?
The Chief Justice, in his testimony, did succeed in airing his side of
several issues, but the early perception that he had walked out of the Senate
Court may have initially brought his testimony to naught.
Still, now that he is in the intensive care unit in a Pasig hospital, the
perception may change — depending on the developments.



Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi

© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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