Evidence presented vs CJ just ‘tip of iceberg,’ says Cebu lawyer

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The evidence presented so far against Chief Justice Renato Corona is just “the tip of the iceberg,” a member of the private prosecution team said Friday.

“The senators and the public will see the strength of our case when the trial starts,” said Aristotle Batuhan, the only Cebuano lawyer in the private prosecution team and a former undersecretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication.

But those who expect fireworks early on may be in for a disappointment. Batuhan said Monday’s hearing would tackle mostly procedural matters where the prosecutors, as well as the volunteer lawyers who would assist them, would formally enter their appearance.

He said the trial could last up to five months because based on the agreement with the senator-judges, the hearings would be held only in the afternoons.

Batuhan said members of the prosecution panel’s communications team, of which he is also a part, would take the time to explain the impeachment process to the people.

“We want to make sure that the public understands the process … We have to inform the public that the impeachment is against the Chief Justice and not the judiciary,” he said.

Batuhan said the prosecution panel wanted to correct the misimpression that the Aquino administration was after the judiciary.

He said the administration also wanted to correct the “weakness” of the judiciary, which was now perceived as the weakest among the three branches of government.

Batuhan said the appointment of Corona as Chief Justice was defective. “We have to go through the impeachment process to guard the judiciary from disrespect,” he said.

He said the private prosecutors were the same lawyers who volunteered their services for the impeachment trial of then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. That trial did not proceed because Gutierrez quit before it could begin.

Batuhan headed the Volunteers for P-Noy during the 2010 election campaign.

He was appointed transportation undersecretary after the election but resigned in October 2011. He is now a DOTC consultant.