MANILA, Philippines – Lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona went to the Supreme Court and asked that it stop the Senate, acting as impeachment court, from compelling banks to produce details of the high court chief’s accounts.
Corona’s lawyer also urged the high court to conduct a special raffle “to immediately take cognizance of their petition” and issue a temporary restraining order after the Senate issued a subpoena for Corona’s bank records from PS Bank and Bank of the Philippine Islands.
The defense lawyers argued that the order of the Impeachment Court violates Republic Act 6426 or the Foreign Currency Deposit Act.
“While it has often been said that by and large, the trial in an impeachment case is political in nature, nonetheless, such is neither an excuse nor a license for us to ignore and abandon our solemn and higher obligation and responsibility as body of jurors to see to it that the bill of rights are observed and that justice is served and to conduct the trial with impartiality and fairness, the hear the case with a clear and open mind and to weigh carefully in this scale the evidence against the respondent and to render to him a just verdict,” the defense lawyers said.