Prosecution wants De Lima to testify in Corona impeachment trial

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has been requested by the prosecution team to appear and testify in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In a three-page request filed Friday, the prosecution team requested the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, to require the appearance of De Lima on February 22 in relation to various criminal cases filed against former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and husband, Juan Miguel Arroyo, which include Mrs. Arroyo’s alleged attempt to leave the county in November 2011, and the alleged multiple travel bookings made by the couple.

De Lima was also requested by the prosecution to bring the records of the Bureau of Immigration “stating the entry and exit in the Philippines of respondent, Renato Corona, during the months of October and November 2011.”

The alleged partiality in granting a temporary retraining order in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Arroyo “in order to give them an opportunity to escape prosecution…” is contained in Article VII of the impeachment complaint filed against Corona.