Corona waives right to object on impeachment case against him

MANILA, Philippines—Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona has waived his right to object on the impeachment case filed against him when he submitted himself under the jurisdiction of the Senate and made public pronouncements that he was ready to face it.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

This was how impeachment prosecutors argued their case when they sought the dismissal of Corona’s motion for preliminary hearing of the case on the ground that it was “fatally defective.”

But in a 15-page comment filed before the Office Senate Secretary on Monday, the prosecution team branded Corona’s claim as “baseless.”

Contrary to Corona’s claim, the prosecutors said, the impeachment complaint filed by 188 members of the House of Representatives has complied with the requirements of the Constitution.

“It is verified, and it was filed by at least one-third of all the members of the House in accordance with Article XI, Section 3 of the Constitution,” they said.

The complaint, they said, contains a verification executed under oath by 188 members and was duly sworn to before a duly authorized officer, the Secretary General of the House of Representatives.

The prosecutors also debunked Corona’s allegations that some of the signatories did not even read the complaint before they signed it, pointing out that the Chief Justice could not even identify the congressmen who supposedly failed to read the case.

“There is no evidence that those congressmen are withdrawing their signatures,” they said. “There is likewise no evidence that the congressmen who supposedly failed to read the impeachment complaint are so numerous as to reduce the number of the complaints to less than the required one-third of the members of the House of Representatives.”

Corona’s motion for preliminary hearing, the prosecutors said, was in reality a motion to dismiss, which is not provided for under the impeachment rules.

“The Senate rules on impeachment do not provide for such motion to dismiss,” they said, “It is plain from said rules that trial should immediately start without any delay.”

“Accordingly, the motion for preliminary hearing should be treated as a dilatory tactic and should not be entertained,” it added.

The prosecutors said Corona’s objection was “moot” since the complaint was already filed at the Senate, which already issued summons to the Chief Justice and set the case for trial on January 16, 2012.

And Corona submitted himself under the jurisdiction of the impeachment court when he filed his answer to the case.

“With these developments, it cannot be denied that the impeachment complaint is sufficient to proceed to trial and any objections to the initiation of the impeachment complaint are barred,” said the prosecutors.

“Corona’s objection has already been waived,” they said pointing out that after the filing of the complaint, the Chief Justice publicly announced that he is ready and willing to face the trial.