Akbayan partylist to file impeach case vs Chief Justice Corona

MANILA, Philippines – Akbayan partylist Representative Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao said her group would file an impeachment case against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona if he refused to inhibit himself from cases involving former President now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Bag-ao said Corona’s refusal to distance himself from the cases involving Arroyo, despite their publicly-known closeness, tantamounts to “betrayal of public trust,” which is one of the grounds for impeachment.

Chief Justice Renato Corona INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Bag-ao said the records show that of the 19 cases involving the Arroyo administration which reached the SC, fifteen of these were decided in favor of Arroyo.

On Tuesday, the Bantay Gloria Network (BGN), led by former Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros, Leah Navarro of the Black and White Movement, NBN-ZTE whistle-blower Jun Lozada, and University of the Philippines student Juan Carlos Tejano, filed two motions in the Supreme Court – one claiming its right to intervene in the suits being heard by the tribunal, and the other calling on Corona to inhibit himself.

The former President, who is confined in a posh hospital for a bone disease, is facing charges of electoral sabotage, a non-bailable offense, before the Pasay City regional trial court.

But Arroyo’s lawyers are questioning the legality of the Department of Justice-Commission on Election joint panel which filed the complaint after a fact-finding inquiry.

They are also questioning the issuance of a wacthlist order by the DoJ,  which has effectively prevented Arroyo from seeking medical treatment abroad.

For more reports, listen to Radyo Inquirer 990, or follow @dziq990 on Twitter.