MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III committed an impeachable offense “when he came out swinging by openly urging the Senator-Judges to disobey the Constitution he has personally sworn to uphold,” Chief Justice Renato Corona said in a statement Monday.
Corona was apparently referring to the call of Malacanang and the prosecution team to open his dollar accounts. The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, on Monday voted to obey the temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court last week on the opening of these dollar accounts.
In his statement, Corona said: “I do know my law. I have not broken any law. I have no liability to the people and to the government…What my wife and I have is the fruit of hard and honest work for which all taxes have been fully paid. Since the prosecution alleged wrongdoing, the obligation to prove it is theirs and theirs alone. Do not extract it from me through means that are foul, coercive and illegal.”
Corona also said the impeachment trial is an attempt on the part of Mr. Aquino to stop the implementation of the high court’s decision ordering the distribution of Hacienda Luisita to some 5,000 farmers.
Hacienda Luisita is owned by the family of President Aquino.
Corona also assailed the prosecution team led by Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas for filing an impeachment case against him without any “iota of evidence.”
“I hope the public will see through your schemes,’’ Corona said, apparently referring to “the effort of the Prosecution to enlist the assistance of certain patently partisan and inquisitorial Senator-Judges to help obtain the evidence you are digging up only, not to mention the ruthless, unchristian and unrelenting public persecution through trial by publicity against my family and I.
Corona added that his family is also being harassed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
“My entire family is now, among others, being harassed by the BIR. I hope this persecution will never happen to any other official, officer, captain of industry or Juan Dela Cruz. I would not wish it on my worst enemy, should I have one,” Corona said.