13 lawyers volunteer to help prosecutors

At least 13 lawyers have volunteered to help the House prosecutors handle Article 1 of the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona for his alleged partiality and subservience to former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr., House lead prosecutor, and Deputy Speaker Raul Daza will direct the second round, described by a spokesperson, Marikina Representative Federico Quimbo, as “more complex.”

“The more complex a ground is, the more lawyers are  required,” Quimbo said.

Those who entered their appearance as senior private prosecutors in the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday night were Joel Butuyan, Claro Mamaril and Vitaliano Aguirre.

Butuyan is the main partner of Harry Roque who had filed an impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo for allegedly plagiarizing international law experts in writing a decision that dismissed claims by Filipino women that they were forced into prostitution by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

The House justice committee had voted to declare as sufficient in substance the impeachment complaint against Del Castillo.

Appearing as associate private prosecutors were Roger Rayel, Dexter Donne Dizon, Allan Jones Lardizabal, Gilbert Andres, brothers Federico Roxas II and Florante Roxas, Norma Singson-de Leon, Puramaryver Saquing, Wanda Talosig and Manuelito Luna.

Volunteerism

“Many are assisting lawyers. We want to catch the sense of volunteerism of the lawyers. Most of them want to be part of this round because they feel very strongly about this,” Quimbo said. “None of the budget of the House will be used to pay them.”

“Article 1 is the meat of all the articles of impeachment. That’s the main reason why Corona was impeached. The prosecutors had to be prepared,” Roque said by phone, pointing out that the preparation for the main article entailed a lot of research work. “This is the most cerebral. More brain power is needed.”