CJ Corona to Senate: Dismiss impeachment complaint

EMBATTLED CHIEF JUSTICE Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona on Monday sought the dismissal of the impeachment complaint filed against him before the Senate.

Chief Justice Renato Corona on Monday said the Senate should dismiss the articles of impeachment filed against him by the House of Representatives, claiming that the move to unseat him was the “handiwork” of President Benigno Aquino III and the ruling Liberal Party.

In a 79-page reply (Read the full text of Chief Justice Renato Corona’s reply) to the House’s charges, Corona reiterated some of his remarks in an earlier combative speech before his supporters at the Supreme Court compound, wherein he described his impeachment as “unconstitutional,” done in “blitzkrieg fashion,” and “a bold, albeit ill-advised, attempt by the executive branch … to mold an obedient Supreme Court.”

The Chief Justice accused the President of leading the Liberal Party in coalescing with other House allies to oust him as the head of the Supreme Court in an “intemperate demonstration of political might.”

“[M]any circumstances and events dating back to the election of President Aquino support the conclusion that it was he … who instigated and ordered the filing of impeachment charges to remove [me],” Corona said in his reply prepared by his defense team led by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas.

Corona lawyer Dexter Corpus arrived at the Recto conference room of the Senate at 3:25 p.m. Monday to deliver one original and 32 photocopies of the Chief Justice’s reply to the articles of impeachment.

Arnel Jose Bañas, the Senate deputy secretary for finance and administration, received the copies.

Valentina Cruz, the spokesperson of the impeachment court, was present when Corpus arrived and announced to reporters that a copy of Corona’s reply would be served to the House this morning.

She said the House prosecutors would be given five days to respond.

“Supposedly, the House has to reply by January 1 (New Year’s Day and a Sunday), but that day being a holiday, they have until January 2 to file a reply,” she said.

Cruz also said the Senate had originally planned to serve Corona’s reply to the House on Monday. But this could not be possible because Corpus arrived one-and-a-half hours before offices closed at 5 p.m., she said.

‘In on the plan’

The Chief Justice said a close evaluation of “the prevailing political climate” would back “the contention that the filing of the articles of impeachment was the handiwork of the Liberal Party alone.”

“Without much effort, one reaches the inevitable conclusion that [the President], as the head of the Liberal Party, must have been ‘in’ on the plan from inception. In contrast, it is unlikely that President Aquino knew nothing of the plans to impeach the Chief Justice,” he said, adding:

“Ensuring political advantage would amply justify the allegation that President Aquino seeks to subjugate the Supreme Court.”

Corona said the impeachment complaint should be junked immediately because it was “insufficient in substance and form” and short of the requirements of the Constitution.

“The [Senate sitting as the] impeachment court may not proceed to trial on the basis of this complaint because it is constitutionally infirm and defective for failure to comply with the requirement of verification,” he said.

Corona pointed out that in “public admissions by members of the House” who had signed the complaint, they were not able to read—or “verify”—it.

“They also declared that the majority of signatories signed without reading the complaint, but reputably in exchange for material considerations,” he said.

He cited Section 4, Rule 7 of the Rules of Court, which states that a pleading may only be considered “verified” if the person who filed it had signed an affidavit showing that he or she “has read the pleading and that the allegations therein are true and correct of his personal knowledge and based on authentic records.”

“In this case, however, the requirement of verification is not a mere procedural rule, but a constitutional requirement. In other words, failure to meet the requirement renders the impeachment unconstitutional,” he said.

‘Partisan orgy’

Corona said that while the 1987 Constitution sanctioned the impeachment process as a way to remove members of constitutional bodies such as Supreme Court justices, it had become “a partisan orgy, devoid of any mature deliberation and of lawful purpose whatsoever.”

He warned that his impeachment, which he described as “a rushed, partisan and insidious attempt to unseat a sitting Chief Justice,” may be considered an “unveiled threat against the other justices of the Supreme Court.”

“What is at stake then is the independence of the Supreme Court and the judiciary as a whole. Because [my] impeachment is an assault on the independence of the judiciary, it is nothing less than an attack on the Constitution itself,” he said, adding:

“This intemperate demonstration of political might is a fatal assault on the independent exercise of judicial power. Falsely branded as an attempt at checks and balances—and even accountability—we are witnessing a callous corruption of our democracy in this staged impeachment.”

Corona said that with the flurry of accusations leveled at him and the high court, this was the first time that the Constitution had been “threatened in such cavalier fashion.”

He called on the Senate to defend the judiciary and the country “from the abyss of unchecked executive power.”

“In these proceedings, the responsibility of protecting the judiciary belongs to the Senate. Only through a fair and judicious exercise of its judgment can the Senate restore productive coexistence within the [three branches of the government],” Corona said.

“[U]nless this august Senate heeds his pleas for justice and reason and lends its protective intercession against a determined executive, Chief Justice Corona could well be the last defender of judicial independence. After him, there may be nothing left to protect,” he said.

At least 6 months

Asked to comment, the President’s spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, said the Chief Justice’s reply to the impeachment complaint meant that “the preliminaries in the impeachment trial have started in earnest” and that “the Filipino people eagerly await [his] trial for accountability.”

The impeachment trial may last for at least six months because the 11 House prosecutors expect Corona’s strong defense, said Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr, the lead prosecutor.

Tupas told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the prosecuting panel was readying its lineup of witnesses and intensifying its preparations to secure a conviction for Corona, who is accused of betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and culpable violations of the Constitution.

He said the panel would only need to prove Corona guilty of any of the eight articles of impeachment.

Tupas chairs the House justice committee that initiated Corona’s impeachment. With reports from Cathy C. Yamsuan, Cynthia D. Balana of PDI; Maila Ager and Tetch Torres of INQUIRER.net

Originally posted at 04:11 pm | Monday, December 26, 2011