Enrile, 88, set for killer schedule but for toothache

Senator-judges have expressed concern that seven weeks of the impeachment trial might take a toll on the health of  Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding officer.

But other than a bad tooth, the 88-year-old Enrile has shown no signs of slowing down, now that the proceedings are entering their crucial phase next week.

In fact, Enrile had proposed a killer schedule of whole-day hearings to end the trial before the Lenten break on March 23.

Lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona, who are set to present their evidence starting Monday, objected and a deal was reached to extend trial hours up to 7 p.m., Mondays to Thursdays, beginning March 12.

Enrile said he was willing to stay on until around 8 p.m. “depending on the energy of my colleagues.”

The oldest among the 23 senators, Enrile said he had not been sick since the trial began on January 16—thanks to a cocktail of vitamins and vaccines for flu and pneumonia. Prior to that, he had spent the Christmas break reading up on literature on impeachment.

Infected molar

“Sometimes, my tooth aches,” he said on Wednesday, referring to the one thing bothering him. He said this was the reason he would sometimes rest his face on his palm while listening to the proceedings.

Enrile said the pain was the result of an infected lower right molar, which had to be extracted one Sunday. The reason: eating too many nuts. “While I am sitting there (at the podium), sometimes (it’s) painful,” he admitted.

His blood pressure occasionally shoots up, he admitted, but not as often as that of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago’s. She once registered a high of 190/90 after berating prosecutors for incompetence.

Enrile has been generally more patient and accommodating. But he was also stern and forthright at times, especially when he lectured prosecutors on how bad their articles of impeachment had been crafted. He also repeatedly scolded them for using the “compulsory process” of the impeachment court to gather evidence against the respondent.

A number of senators have been asked whether Corona’s lawyers would also be berated when they present their case for Corona’s acquittal.

Reflect, pray

Defense counsel Ramon Esguerra admitted that the possibility of “humiliation” was a “concern.”

“But you know, (for) the practitioners in us, all of whom we are, we’ve been used to that day in and day out of our practice,” Esguerra told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “We are not onion-skinned … and we don’t have  constituents to protect.”

Enrile said the defense presentation of evidence would be followed by its formal offer of documentary evidence, to which the prosecution would be asked for comment or objection.

After the court rules on which of the evidence would be admitted, he said it would set an oral argument of about one hour for each side.

“Afterward, the senators might ask for time to think about their position, to reflect, pray,” Enrile said.

Originally posted at 07:42 pm | Thursday, March 08,  2012