Senate set to decide on validity of Corona’s impeachment
THE Philippine Senate, which will convene as an impeachment court in two weeks, is expected to rule on the validity of the impeachment case against Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Corona, who asked the Senate to dismiss the complaint, said it was invalid since members of the House did not read the complaint before signing.
Corona was accused by the 188 congressmen-signatories of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and graft and corruption.
House justice committee chairman Niel Tupas Jr., who also heads the prosecution team, said “numerous” photocopies of the complaint were distributed to political parties before a majority caucus in December.
“Numerous” copies were also available at the caucus, he added.
The prosecution team on Monday filed its 38-page reply to Corona’s answer to the eight articles of impeachment against him.
The prosecution team asked the Senate impeachment court to 1) immediately deny Corona’s prayer for the dismissal of the impeachment complaint against him; 2) proceed with the trial immediately; and 3) convict Corona for betrayal of public trust.
“The prosecution panel is ready. Let’s get it on for the sake of our nation,” Tupas said in a text message to reporters.
The prosecution team’s reply also dared Corona to avoid hiding behind legal technicalities to delay the trial or avoid accountability.
Corona also said the complaint was filed “like a thief in the night,” referring to the process by which it was signed — immediately after a December 12 majority caucus where the prosecution panel head explained the contents.
But the panel said even if the “verification” is “defective,” “it is not fatal to the Impeachment Complaint or the jurisdiction of the Impeachment Court. It is elementary that verification is a formal, not jurisdictional.”
“It is extremely surprising for Corona to hide behind a technicality to avoid or delay trial. After all, there were boasts of his ‘powerhouse’ legal team, that he is ready and willing to face trial in the Senate and welcomes the opportunity to prove his innocence…Apparently, now that the time has come for him to face the impeachment charges, he is not as bold after all,” the lawmakers said.
Navotas City Representative Tobias “Toby” Tiangco, for his part, insisted that the complaint was defective, saying several lawmakers admitted having signed the document without reading it.
“The fact that congressmen were not allowed to ask questions after the PowerPoint (presentation) shows due process was not followed…We were told to get a copy of the complaint and raise questions only during plenary session,” said Tiangco, who quit the House majority bloc after the supposed rush in the filing of the complaint.
Tupas added their reply also stressed, among others, that the complaint was not instigated by President Benigno Aquino III and the Liberal Party (LP), but the Filipino people through their representatives in Congress.
The prosecution, in its reply, said the LP only has 80 members at the House, and that not all of them signed the impeachment complaint against Corona. More members of the House who signed the complaint were from other parties, the panel said.
“Corona must not hide behind the cloak of collegiality and dilute the blame on him,” the House reply said.
The prosecution panel argued that as constitutional head of the judiciary, Corona “holds a unique and powerful position within the Supreme Court.”
The panel also said that if Corona sees an attack on him as an attack on the judiciary, “he cannot now disclaim leadership and responsibility just because it is convenient to his defense.”
The prosecution panel also hit at Corona’s claim that the impeachment will weaken the rule of law.
“The sovereign people simply want accountability, and to bring back a Supreme Court whose independence is beyond question,” it said.
The House prosecution panel also told Corona on Monday to quit his alleged delaying tactics and face the impeachment complaint against him.
The panel also stated that the impeachment of Corona will strengthen the Judiciary by removing the former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s influence in the High Tribunal. Corona earlier claimed that the impeachment case was an attack on the Judiciary.
Deputy Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” Tanada III, the panel’s spokesperson, said they are confident that Corona will be convicted and removed from his position as SC Chief Justice.
“Corona’s impeachment is purely a response to the people’s clamor to hold him accountable for his sins and offenses, and purge the Highest Court of a morally unfit officer who has betrayed their trust,” the panel stated in its reply.
The “last straw”, the group said, was when the SC, led by Corona, issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the travel ban issued on former President Arroyo.
Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares, the lead prosecutor on Article VII of the impeachment complaint, believes that the issuance of the TRO will pin Corona down in the Senate trial.
“A justice who is proven to have rendered a decision partial to a party in a case cannot escape accountability merely because the others voted with him,” Colmenares argued.
Corona, a so-called midnight appointee of Arroyo, also served as the former President Arroyo’s chief of staff and spokesperson. (Kathrina Alvarez/Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)
Source : http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2012/01/02/senate-set-decide-validity-coronas-impeachment-198437
Best Restaurant in Clark Pampanga unveils regional dinner menu featuring the classic cuisine of Italy, all designed to pair nicely with fine vintage wines from Italy’s wine regions such as Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto and Sicily, one more reasons for food and wine lovers to travel to Angeles City, Clark Philippines to satisfy their thirst for a wonderful meal at a fine dining restaurant, the best place to eat in Pampanga.
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Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar
Mimosa Drive past Holiday Inn, Mimosa Leisure Estate,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, Philippines 2023
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3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay
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