Supreme Court warned against stopping impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines — A senator allied with the administration warned the Supreme Court against stopping the impeachment proceeding against Chief Justice Renato Corona, saying doing so will be a “grave abuse of judicial authority.”

“This is a political issue and as such, the Supreme Court should not step in. Since the matter is a political issue, it is therefore not justiciable,” Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said in a text message.

“The Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction over a political issue. It will be a grave abuse of judicial authority if the SC justices vote in favor of restraining the impeachment court,” Pangilinan added.

Senator Panfilo Lacson also asserted the Senate’s jurisdiction acting as an impeachment court to try the case of Corona.

“The Constitution is clear as it is plain on the matter of impeachment against certain officials. There is no other interpretation,” Lacson said in a separate text message.

Pangilinan and Lacson, who sit as judges in the impeachment trial, were reacting to a petition filed by lawyer Vladimir Cabigao before the Supreme Court, urging it to issue a temporary restraining order and writ of prohibitory injunction against the Senate impeachment court.

In his petition, Cabigao claimed that the House of Representatives committed grave abuse of discretion when it acted in an “arbitrary or despotic manner” in approving the impeachment case against Corona.