A number of senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona on Saturday expressed dismay at the prosecution’s plan to call some 100 witnesses to the stand, saying this would cause the proceeding to drag on for months.
“I wonder who’s delaying the impeachment trial now,” Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III curtly said in a phone interview. “That’s up to them. We’re ready for anything.”
Defense lawyer and spokesperson Tranquil Salvador III pointed out that Corona’s trial was “not about numbers but the quality and substance” of the witnesses’ testimony.
His colleague in the defense, Ramon Esguerra, also said that while the number of the prosecution’s witnesses was “awesome,” it was substance that mattered.
Salvador said the prosecution could not just call any witness of “their wish” to the stand. “They have to show that the witness can testify on matters in support of the articles of impeachment. The witness to be presented should have personal knowledge of what he or she will testify on,” he said.
But Rep. Niel Tupas, the chief prosecutor, said that barring hitches, he expected to complete the presentation of the team’s witnesses and documents by the end of February.
Defense raising technicalities
“We want to present evidence and conclude this within a reasonable period of time,” Tupas said.
“The public wants this case concluded at the earliest possible time. The sooner, the better for our country. But with the defense always raising technicalities, I’m afraid it would really take a long time [to finish the proceeding],” he said.
Tupas said the prosecution initially had 300 documents to be presented as evidence against Corona for betrayal of public trust, culpable violations of the Constitution, and graft.
He said the 100 initial witnesses might be trimmed down as the need arose.
“We will balance the number of witnesses with our desire to finish presenting everything by the end of February. So we may opt not to present all 100 witnesses,” he said.
The prosecution submitted its list of witnesses and documentary evidence to the Senate impeachment court on Friday, in compliance with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s demand that the two camps identify their lineup.
The list includes Supreme Court justices, their spokesperson Midas Marquez, Inquirer reporters and other journalists, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, and the doctors of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Expanded fishing expedition
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman bristled at the prosecution’s inclusion of Supreme Court justices on its list of witnesses, saying its “expanded fishing expedition … will wreak havoc on the high court.”
Lagman, who was recently removed as House minority leader, said calling the justices as witnesses would make them testify not only for or against the Chief Justice but also against each other. He said it would also violate the time-honored confidentiality of the justices’ deliberations on cases.
“Moreover, the collective decisions of the Supreme Court will be shredded to pieces as the fishing expedition navigates on the high seas of the Supreme Court,” he said.
Only 5 justices, not 13
But Tupas clarified that only five, and not 13, Supreme Court justices, would be presented as witnesses.
He shrugged off Lagman’s charge, saying the prosecution’s mandate was to search for the truth.
“We have no intention of wreaking havoc on the Supreme Court as our objective is to restore its strength and independence,” Tupas told the Inquirer.
“By testifying before the Senate, the Supreme Court justices will help us attain these objectives,” he said.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the long list of witnesses was “cause for concern” given the slow pace of the trial.
“If [the prosecutors] are serious about presenting all these witnesses, then we face the prospects of a prolonged trial. We have had six witnesses in the last two weeks. If we maintain this pace, 100 witnesses will require 10 months of trial. This doesn’t include the witnesses for the defense,” Pangilinan said in a text message.
Sen. Sergio Osmeña III estimated that it would take over a month to present 100 witnesses. He said the prosecutors should confer with Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile “to discuss how to compress the proceedings.”
Enrile said on Friday that he would not impose limitations on the presentation of testimonial or documentary evidence, but would apply the rules to prevent delay.
Imposition
As things stand, the impeachment trial is an imposition on the Senate, Sen. Joker Arroyo said.
“The cat is out of the bag. Does the prosecution need 100 witnesses to be able to remove the Chief Justice from office? At the rate the trial is proceeding, it can’t be finished before the end of 2012,” he said in an interview.
Arroyo said the Senate had been devoting 25 percent of its plenary time on legislation, “its principal duty,” and 75 percent on the impeachment trial, “an incidental function.”
“That is too much of an imposition on the Senate and a derogation of its principal constitutional function … to legislate and make policy,” the senator said.
“The trial is hampered not because the House prosecutors are not good, because they are, but because of the articles of impeachment transmitted to the Senate which were wantonly prepared, and the root cause of all the arguments. This impeachment case will be like the never-ending Ampatuan trial,” he said, referring to the case involving the November 2009 massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao.
Pangilinan said the prospect of a drawn-out trial did not bode well for governance. Thus, he said, the impeachment court had “to strike a healthy balance between the demands of the trial and that of the national interest.”
Sen. Ralph Recto said that with the prosecution’s plan, the trial could even extend up to President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address in midyear.
Working thru the break
“There are so many things that the government has to do. That will affect the Senate’s ability to legislate. Maybe they can trim their list,” he said.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he would not mind foregoing the Holy Week break just to complete the trial, as suggested by the prosecution.
“As long as the witnesses will be relevant and material to any of the eight articles of impeachment, I am willing to support [the prosecutor’s suggestion] for the sake of truth and fairness, especially if it can help the senator-judges make a good, conscientious decision,” Lacson said by text message.
“This trial is far more important than our session break. It doesn’t matter to me if I have to work beyond our calendared session period,” he said.
Pangilinan and Osmeña expressed a similar commitment to work through the congressional break.
But Sotto said he was not open to the idea.
‘Not overwhelmed’
The defense’s Esguerra said the defense was not “bothered” by the prosecution’s long list of witnesses even if it were doubled or tripled.
“We will not lower our guard and keep our patience. But the Senate and the people, can they? What about the real enemies of the CJ (Chief Justice) and those in the media?” he said.
Added Salvador: “We are not overwhelmed. These are realities in practice. Maybe they would want to give the impression they have so much evidence.”
Esguerra also said the number of witnesses neither amounted “to importance and substance” nor led to conviction.
“We cannot equate 100 of even truthful witnesses to relevance, materiality, connection or admissibility. We must note that this is just the side of the complainants,” he said by text message.
“In proving murder, a single eyewitness will do. The same is true for rape,” he added.
Defense’s 15 witnesses
The defense is to submit its list of 15 witnesses to the impeachment court on Monday. Salvador declined to identify them pending the submission of the list.
With the long lineup of witnesses, plus the arguments and the cross-examinations, Corona’s impeachment trial can drag on, the defense said.
“This case will not be as fast as they claim in public,” Salvador said. “In case there will be delays, they should not be blaming the defense.”
Said Esguerra: “Perhaps at least eight of the congressmen in the House panel who signed the impeachment complaint and claimed to have personal knowledge of the facts can take the witness stand. That will shorten the trial a lot!”
First posted 11:37 pm | Saturday, January 28th, 2012