Defense pleased with developments in Corona trial

MANILA, Philippines – The defense panel is pleased with the developments on the sixth day of the impeachment trial against Chief Justice Renato Corona where it questioned the prosecution’s purpose of calling Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares as witness.

Speaking at a press briefing, lawyers Karen Jimeno and Tranquil Salvador III, spokespersons for the defense team, said that the developments were in accordance with the Constitution which provides its citizens with due process.

Jimeno said they were pleased not because they did not want the truth to emerge but because they believed that the allegations should be specified and that the prosecution should not wait until after the case has been filed before they would go looking for evidence. “Hindi ito para harangan ang katotohanan [This is not meant to block the truth].”

She further questioned why the prosecutors were not able to thresh out their allegations against Corona’s “ill-gotten wealth” in Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment. “Dapat inilahad nila sa verified complaint. Umpisa pa lang dapat meron na yan. Ngayong may problema hindi pwede isisi kay chief justice o sa Senate [They should have explained it in the verified complaint. They should have had that at the start. Now that there’s a problem that they could not blame on the chief justice or the Senate],” they said.

Meanwhile, Salvador denied that their team objected to the presentation of the income tax returns (ITRs), pointing out that they “admitted [to] the authenticity of the ITRs.” He further clarified that they were worried that the documents may be uploaded online, open to analysis by just about anyone with access to the SALN.

“Ang batayan ng batas ay kung may demandang kayang tumayo [The basis of the law is whether the case can stand alone], supported by ultimate facts,” Salvador further explained, pointing out how the prosecution used words like “suspected” and “reported” in their allegations.

Should the prosecution opt to amend the said article, Salvador said that they would have to go back to the House of the Representatives. “Dapat sinuri na nila doon… ngayon pinipilit na kasabay ng trial ang determination of probable cause [They should have examined it there . . . now they are forcing to bring the determination of probable cause alongside the trial].”

Under Article 2, Jimeno said that the allegations on the chief justice’s ill-gotten wealth “[ay] di madedesisyunan, di malilitis ng maayos [can’t be decided on, can’t be tried properly]. Sila [prosecution] ang may pagkukulang sa umpisa pa lang [They have been at a disadvantage right from the start].”

But Salvador said this Wednesday’s development was a momentary advancement for the defense panel and that they would still face the other impeachment articles one by one.