SENATORS LIST FACTORS IN CORONA DOWNFALL / CARPIO TAKES OVER
SC
[ENRILE EXPLAINS HIS VOTE MAKES 20 TO 3: Senate President Juan Ponce
Enrile explains his guilty verdict for Chief Justice Renato Corona under Article
II of the impeachment complaint. Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Enrile's
vote rounded up the 20 in favor of conviction against the 3 who voted for
acquittal. ZAS(Photo by JOE ARA)]
MANILA, JUNE 1, 2012 (MALAYA) Written by JP LOPEZ - THE
testimony of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, the conditional waiver issued by
Renato Corona, and his act of leaving the impeachment proceedings without
waiting to be formally discharged by the Senate impeachment court led to his
ouster as chief justice.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and other senators made this observation
yesterday, a day after the senator judges voted 20-3 finding Corona guilty of
culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for his
failure to disclose his dollar accounts in his statement of assets, liabilities
and net worth (SALN).
Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Edgardo Angara and Panfilo Lacson said Corona's
defense team, led by former Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas, bungled their job.
Enrile said that as early as March, only 11 senators were likely to vote for
conviction. This was based on the positions taken by his colleagues during the
trial which started on January 16.
He said the 11 were Franklin Drilon, Teofisto Guingona III, Francis
Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Sergio Osmeña III, Ralph Recto, Lito Lapid, Antonio
Trillanes IV, Edgardo Angara, Pia Cayetano, and Allan Peter Cayetano.
He said he wrote the names of senators, and the position they would likely
take, on a piece of paper which he showed to reporters yesterday.
He said since the start, Senators Joker Arroyo, Miriam Defensor Santiago and
Ferdinand Marcos had shown their inclination to vote for acquittal.
Enrile said nine senators, including himself, were then still undecided. The
other eight, who eventually voted for conviction, were Gregorio Honasan, Ramon
Revilla Jr., Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Aquilino Pimentel III, Jinggoy
Estrada, Vicente Sotto III and Manny Villar.
Enrile, Estrada, Angara and Lacson said the Ombudsman's testimony about
Corona having at least $10 million in bank accounts, which were never declared
in Corona's SALN, made the undecided vote for conviction.
It was the defense that asked the impeachment court to subpoena Morales.
"In the beginning, I was really trying to give the chief justice the benefit
of the doubt. Ang nangyari doon, hindi ko malaman kung bakit pina-subpoena ng
kanyang depensa yung Ombudsman," he said.
He said the Ombudsman presented a report based on a document of the
Anti-Money Laundering Council that was "so detailed, no mind, even Einstein,
cannot invent the details covered by those transactions."
"No mind or a legal mind or financial mind could concoct the contents of
those documents and the numbers of documents and the transactions that happened
over a period of eight years. No one, in my opinion, could do it," he added.
Lacson described Morales appearance as the defense's hostile witness as "one
big blunder on the part of the defense team." He said Corona might have been
acquitted if Morales did not testify.
"Before the Ombudsman appeared, ang burden malakas doon sa balikat ng
prosecution. Unang una ang taas ng hype. Tinaasan nila ang tao, 45 properties,
katakot-takot daw ang ebidensya. Yun pala napakalayo sa inaasahan," he said.
Enrile said Corona's "walkout" affected their decision.
"We felt there was some degree of rudeness. Of course, later on, we gave him
the benefit of the doubt that he was medically infirm at the moment," he said.
"There was some degree of disrespect. And what aggravated the problem was the
way the Chief Justice acted when he left the witness stand," he also said.
DEFENSE DID IT
Lacson said the defense committed the "blunder" of calling Morales to the
witness stand.
Estrada said the prosecution started with no case at all, and tried to build
it up as the case moved.
He also said the defense lawyers brought their client down by asking the
court to summon the Ombudsman.
Angara said the testimonies of Corona and Morales provided the turning point
for the impeachment trial.
"I found it difficult to make a decision through the trial. However, with the
appearance of the Ombudsman and the testimony of the chief justice himself, the
whole picture came together not just for me, but for many of my colleagues as
well. You can see this sentiment reflected in the overwhelming vote," he said.
'MOVE FORWARD'
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, through its president Roan Libarios,
asked Aquino to set aside partisan politics and lead the nation towards a
"healing process."
"We call on the President to lead in the healing process and unify the
nation…We also call on the public to respect the judgment as a triumph of the
rule of law, the proceedings in the Senate being fair and credible," he said.
The IBP found Corona commendable "for living up to the demands of
transparency and accountability by submitting himself to the impeachment process
and executing an unconditional waiver of confidentiality of his bank accounts."
Archbishop Jose Palma, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines, asked the faithful to accept the verdict.
"I know that people are divided, but we have to accept the verdict. Sana we
should think of the things that should unite us rather things that would divide
us," he said. – With Evangeline de Vera, Wendell Vigilia and
Gerard Naval
Carpio takes over SC - Justices approve SALN disclosure
Details Published on Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:00 Written by
EVANGELINE DE
ASSOCIATE Justice Antonio Carpio (photo) yesterday took over the
reins of the Supreme Court, a day after the Senate sitting as an impeachment
court convicted Chief Justice Renato Corona for failure to disclose his peso and
dollar deposits in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
Carpio, the most senior magistrate next to Corona, called for a special en
banc session yesterday afternoon to discuss "administrative matters," said Gleo
Guerra, acting SC spokeswoman, in a press briefing.
Guerra said Carpio's role as acting chief justice is "by operation of law,
being the (next) most senior justice."
Asked if Carpio's calling of a special en banc session could be taken to mean
that the high court is not inclined to entertain any appeal of the impeachment
court's guilty verdict on Corona, she said: "We have an acting chief justice so
you can draw the necessary implication on that."
The high court was not expected to resume its regular session until June 19,
after a month-long, decision-writing break.
Carpio called the magistrates to a special session after the tribunal
received a copy of the impeachment court's decision.
Guerra said that during the special en banc, the magistrates except for Lucas
Bersamin and Diosdado Peralta were unanimous in approving public disclosure of
the judges' and justices' 2011 SALN.
Bersamin and Peralta are in Baguio City for a lecture.
The release of the SALN will be covered by guidelines which will be discussed
in another special en banc session on June 13.
The decision to disclose their SALN effectively nullifies a resolution issued
on May 2, 1989 by then Chief Justice Andres Narvasa, which requires court
officials to submit their SALN to the Office of the Clerk of Court, and which
made it unlawful for any person to obtain or use any statement filed under
Republic Act 6713 (the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public
Officials and Employees) for "(a) any purpose contrary to morals or public
policy, or (b) any commercial purpose other than by news and communications
media for dissemination to the general public."
Narvasa was an appointee of the late former President Corazon Aquino, mother
of the President.
Asked if the court's decision to release the SALN had anything to do with
Corona's call for other top government officials to also issue a waiver on the
confidentiality of their bank accounts, which was an issue raised during his
impeachment trial, Guerra answered in the affirmative.
"Let's not forget, precedent-setting ang ginawa ni CJ Corona to issue a
waiver," she said.
Guerra said disclosure of justices' SALN was a "collective decision" of the
court and not just an initiative of Carpio.
Guerra said the justices also resolved to take up during their session on
June 19 the issue of whether Corona is entitled to get his benefits despite his
impeachment.
Corona's failure to disclose in his SALN his $2.4 million and P80 million
deposits, which he said were co-mingled funds of his family and those of his
wife's family-owned Basa-Guidote Enterprises Inc. funds, prompted the Senate
impeachment court to declare him guilty for betrayal of public trust and
culpable violation of the Constitution.
A highly-placed court source said among the issues discussed during the
special en banc was whether to give Corona 30 days to pack up and turn over
official documents, considering the final and executory nature of the Senate
impeachment court's ruling on his removal from office.
Court administrator Jose Midas Marquez said he would no longer be the
spokesman for the tribunal in view of the co-terminus nature of the post with
Corona. He will, however, retain his position as court administrator, it being a
plantilla position.
"I can't speak for the SC now. I am co-terminus with Justice Corona," he said
in an ambush interview.
Guerra said, "His (Marquez') being a spokesman was just an additional job. As
he said to us, it's already overdue that he give up his duties as
spokesman."
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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