Prosecution urges Corona to appear at impeachment
MANILA, Philippines—The prosecution panel on Wednesday challenged Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona to appear before the impeachment court.
Deputy speaker Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, who serves as a spokesperson for the prosecution team, urged Corona to present his SALN, saying that if the Chief Justice had “nothing to hide (he) would not be afraid to testify before the impeachment court to clear (his name).”
He lambasted what he described to be Corona’s preference to “plead his case with the media and the public.”
Marikina representative Miro Quimbo, also a spokesman for the prosecution, maintained that the impeachment court was the “best venue for (Corona) to say his position on every article of impeachment but unfortunately he has chosen to let the court employees take the cudgels for him at the expense of court operations.”
He surmised that the defense panel would use the Chief Justice’s right against self-incrimination “whenever it’s convenient.”
On Tuesday, the Senate acting as an impeachment court, junked the prosecution’s motion to subpoena Corona and his family to testify at the trial.
