CUEVAS: CJ WILL APPEAR IN COURT TODAY
/ DOCTORS SLAM MEDICAL EXCUSES
[PHOTO - Retired
justice Serafin Cuevas, lead defense lawyer, said the Chief Justice, who
reportedly suffered a hypoglycemia attack during Tuesday's hearing, can talk but
can barely move as he is still recuperating.]
MANILA, MAY 25, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By Edu Punay - Chief Justice
Renato Corona is set to return to the Senate impeachment court today despite
objections from his family as well as concerns raised by doctors over his
medical condition, his lead counsel said.
Retired justice Serafin Cuevas, lead defense lawyer, confirmed yesterday that
the Chief Justice would abide by an order for him to show up at the Senate
impeachment court.
"He will be there," Cuevas told reporters after visiting his client at the
intensive care unit of The Medical City in Pasig.
This was confirmed by another defense lawyer, Ramon Esguerra, who was with
Cuevas during the hospital visit.
The entire defense team, except for Karen Jimeno, went to the hospital last
night.
"Tell the rest of the team that if my condition does not worsen, I'd like to
personally go there (to the Senate), apologize for whatever… that my actions
caused… and open myself for questioning by the senators," Esguerra said, quoting
Corona.
He said Corona is ready for cross-examination.
"Barring any worse medical condition, he will be there tomorrow (today),"
Esguerra said.
"He went through all this courageously to prove his innocence, whether they
believe him, it is up to them."
Cuevas said Corona's family as well as his attending physicians have
expressed concern that another day on the witness stand could put the Chief
Justice's life in danger.
Corona was being closely monitored for possible acute coronary syndrome or
heart attack.
"I told him that it's inevitable to appear tomorrow (Friday) because the
judges might think he really intended to disrespect them. And we were able to
convince him," Cuevas said.
The defense counsel said a medical team would be on standby just in case.
Corona signed a waiver absolving the hospital of any liability in case his
condition takes a turn for the worse after leaving the hospital.
Corona's son Francis said his father's condition has already improved.
"He is stable. He is getting better already," he told reporters.
In a second medical bulletin released at 3 p.m., Corona was reported to be in
stable condition since Wednesday.
Dr. Eugenio Ramos, senior vice president for medical services of TMC, said
the Chief Justice no longer showed signs of heart attack and that he may already
leave the ICU and move to an ordinary hospital room.
But the doctor stressed that leaving the hospital and attending the trial
could be risky for Corona "because of very high stress."
"But he can go as long as he signs a waiver," Ramos told a press conference.
Security and visiting rules were strict at the ICU where Corona was staying.
A visitor, former Sen. Francisco "Kit" Tatad, was not allowed to enter the
ICU.
After a lengthy and emotional statement before the impeachment court last
Tuesday, Corona suddenly left the witness stand in a huff, prompting Senate
President and impeachment court presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile to order the
Senate sergeant-at-arms to close the gates to prevent the Chief Justice from
leaving the premises.
When Corona resurfaced, he was already in a wheelchair and looking weak.
His lawyers claimed he had to leave after feeling weak due to hypoglycemia or
a sudden drop in blood sugar.
Later that evening, Corona was rushed to TMC in Pasig City and was wheeled
into the hospital's ICU after midnight Wednesday.
His doctors reported seeing signs of acute coronary syndrome or heart attack.
Corona underwent double heart bypass operations in 1995 and 2008.
No more excuses
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said the impeachment court would no
longer tolerate further delays in the trial.
"That's the maximum time we agreed upon," Sotto said. "The court has been
super liberal and we have given him until (today). We will accommodate the Chief
Justice tomorrow (today). Hopefully, it will not be too long before we finally
wrap up the trial."
Defense lawyers Tranquil Salvador III and Rico Paolo Quicho also stressed the
Chief Justice "is very much willing" to attend today's hearing.
"We are waiting for doctors' clearance," Salvador said.
"We pray that he will recover well in time for the hearing tomorrow (today),"
Quicho said.
Esguerra, meanwhile, said the disruption of the hearing last Tuesday does not
indicate there are some cracks in the defense team.
"We may have disagreements whenever we discuss issues on our approach but in
the end, we have to agree and settle (the differences) and defer to the final
decision of our client. It's part of our dynamism," Esguerra said.
"No, the defense (team) is not in a state of disarray," Salvador said.
Prosecution spokesman Aurora Rep. Sonny Angara, for his part, welcomed
Corona's promise to return to the witness stand.
"The Chief Justice's appearance, even if he is feeling a bit sick, is good
because we don't want the defense to say later on that they lost the case on a
technicality," Angara said in Filipino.
He said the prosecution also hopes Corona would not take advantage of the
developments to get the Supreme Court to declare a mistrial.
He said the defense might claim that its client was compelled to return to
the witness stand without being given the chance to fully recover.
Mistrial?
Meanwhile, Cuevas said a mistrial only becomes an option if there is "a grave
abuse of discretion" by senator-judges.
But he said they are not eyeing the option for now since they expect an
acquittal.
"That did not come from us. You are the ones who asked us that," Cuevas said
when asked to react to text messages stating that Corona's camp was setting the
stage for a mistrial.
"Let's see. If (Corona will be) acquitted why (do that)? We remain hopeful
that he will be acquitted," he pointed out.
Cuevas said certain conditions should be present before a mistrial can be
declared.
"If it will amount to what is known as grave abuse of discretion then we will
avail of it as a ground for petition for review," he said.
When asked if such "abuse of discretion" has been committed by the
impeachment court, Cuevas said, "Don't ask me now."
When asked if they are not ruling out a mistrial, Cuevas said: "You have seen
the events. It's not because you claimed that there is a mistrial, a mistrial
will be declared."
He said the defense team would exhaust all available legal means to protect
the rights of Corona.
"In whatever struggle, can you say this? 'You have been defeated, just sleep
because you've been defeated.' That is not what a client expects," Cuevas said.
He said they would continue to review the transcripts of the trial. "We will
read the transcripts again. Not all errors of the court constitute a grave abuse
of discretion sufficient to raise the issue of mistrial," Cuevas said.
Cuevas maintained that the prosecution does not have a strong case against
Corona.
"We hope they (senator-judges) are convinced that the Chief Justice is not
guilty of the allegations against him," he said.
Text messages about the supposed plan of the defense and some senators to
call a mistrial made the rounds before Corona took the witness stand last
Tuesday.
For instance, a "news alert" supposedly from ANC talked about a Supreme Court
issuance of a temporary restraining order on the impeachment trial.
ANC has denied releasing such news alert and called on the public to be wary
of reports coming from unofficial sources.
The defense panel has a pending petition with the Supreme Court (SC) for the
voiding of the impeachment trial, citing the absence of probable cause to indict
Corona of the charges against him.
Cuevas, however, said the SC has yet to schedule oral arguments for their
petition.
"We filed about two to three weeks ago. I prayed our oral argument be
scheduled but until now there is no oral argument yet," he said.
He admitted an SC decision is already too late since the impeachment court
will already issue a verdict early next week. With Christina
Mendez, Alexis Romero
Corona arrives at the Senate By Dennis Carcamo The
Philippine Star Updated May 25, 2012 01:54 PM 6 comments to this post
MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona is expected to explain why
he walked out of the Senate impeachment court immediately after his three-hour
opening statement at the witness stand last Tuesday, a defense panel
spokesperson said.
In a television interview, lawyer Karen Jimeno said the defense panel knows
the importance of Corona's appearance at the Senate and to answer all
allegations against him.
Jimeno also said they expect the Chief Justice to apologize to the Senate
impeachment court which viewed his walkout as a disrespect to the legislative
body.
She added that the defense lawyers were also surprised when the Corona
suddenly walked out of the Senate court without permission from Presiding
Senator-Judge Juan Ponce Enrile.
Corona has arrived this afternoon from the Medical City in Pasig at the
Senate building in Pasay City on board an ambulance. He was accompanied by
medical personnel and Supreme Court security personnel.
Corona was met by his wife Cristina when he alighted the ambulance. However,
instead of being wheeled up to the second floor where the holding area for
witnesses is located, the Chief Justice, wearing a white barong tagalog, walked
to the elevator while leaning on his wife.
Doctors' group slams medical excuses By Sheila
Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated May 25, 2012 12:00 AMComments (52)
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) lamented
yesterday the practice of some people who use medical reasons to excuse
themselves from facing legal obligations.
Chief Justice Renato Corona walked out last Tuesday from the hearing of the
Senate impeachment court after allegedly suffering from hypoglycemia or sudden
drop in blood sugar that often afflicts diabetics like himself.
"It is very saddening for us doctors that medical condition is being used as
a reason so that one can avoid their legal obligations. The practice of medicine
is immaculate so it should not be used for things like this," said Leo Olarte,
PMA Governor for Manila.
Olarte, however, clarified that he was not particularly referring to Corona
and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who is now detained at the
Veterans' Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City to get treatment for her
various ailments pending trial of the various criminal charges that were filed
against her, while Corona is now confined at The Medical City in Pasig City.
Arroyo is facing electoral sabotage charges for allegedly manipulating the
2007 elections in Maguindanao, and a separate graft case in connection with the
canceled national broadband network contract with the Chinese firm ZTE Corp.
"Based on the medical bulletin of Chief Justice Corona, the results of his
troponin examination is high and this led to a diagnosis of a possible heart
attack. I think because of this he is entitled to a justifiable consideration,"
Olarte said.
He said Arroyo's health condition is "valid" since she underwent several
surgeries.
Four years ago, former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc-joc" Bolante
was hospitalized while being investigated by the Senate for multi-million-peso
fertilizer fund scam.
Olarte, who is also a practicing lawyer, acknowledged that poor health
condition is a valid reason for someone to be excused from court hearings or
other legal proceedings.
"Under the Rules of Court, a witness must be of good mental and physical
health because, otherwise, his testimony may be affected," he said.
Olarte clarified that he is not accusing some doctors of fabricating medical
results to allow their patients to evade court proceedings.
He, however, complained that the public now has the impression that there are
doctors who allow their patients to use them to certify medical excuses to evade
legal obligations or investigation.
"I don't think there is a doctor in his right mind who will 'doctor' medical
results. What I'm saying is that the medical condition that will disallow or
prohibit a litigant to testify should be valid and truthful," he added.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
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