2 senator-judges reject defense claims of bias

Senators Franklin Drilon and Antonio Trillanes IV. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

ILOILO CITY—Two senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona on Sunday rejected claims of the defense that some of the senators were biased for the prosecution.

Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Franklin Drilon, who were here to attend the Dinagyang Festival, said they were just fulfilling their roles in the historic trial.

“We are here to ferret out the truth. If it is not presented by the prosecution or the defense, we need to search for it further. That’s the bottom line,” Trillanes  told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Defense lawyers last week said some senators were acting as “substitutes” for prosecutors, especially during the testimony of Enriqueta Vidal, Supreme Court clerk of court, who was ordered by the impeachment court to release Corona’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs).

Lawyers Homobono Adaza and Alan Paguia last week asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the impeachment trial, claiming that some senator-judges were displaying “unseemly and partial behavior.”

But Trillanes said the motion would not stop the proceedings. “They can always try to stop the impeachment trial but we know our constitutional standing. We will cross the bridge when we get there,” he said.

Drilon said the allegations of being biased, especially against him, had “no basis.”

Drilon, a senior member of President Aquino’s Liberal Party, said he merely questioned Vidal on her compliance with the impeachment court’s order to submit the SALNs of Corona.

“Both the prosecution and even the defense had it (SALN) as part of their evidence. How can I be biased?” Drilon said.

Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño, who was also at the Dinagyang Festival, said the defense panel “will always say that the senators are biased if the senators are uncovering the truth.”

Casiño said the evidence that had been presented was “damning” against Corona.

“Even if they (defense) succeed in blocking the evidence, senators will not be blind. What is in question is the integrity of the Chief Justice and that integrity is beyond technicality,” he said.