Luisita, Roxas, ‘non-issues’ in Corona impeachment

A former Akbayan party-list representative and one of the citizen complainants in the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona said that the Hacienda Luisita and election protest of Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas are “non-issues.”

The impeachment and ongoing Senate trial of Corona is about accountability of public officials, which is the major pillar of President Benigno Aquino III’s administration, said Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel.

“Hacienda Luisita is a non-issue in the impeachment trial… non-issue din ang kay Secretary Roxas na election protest when he ran for vice president in the 2010 elections,” she said in a press conference in Cebu City.

“Advocates of agrarian reform as well as the lawyers fighting for the farmers’ welfare are, in fact, part of our impeachment team,” she added.

Two in the nine-person House Impeachment Prosecution teams, Bayan Muna’s Rep. Neri Colmenares and Rep. Arlene Bag-ao of Akbayan, are strong advocates of agrarian reform.

Pro-impeachment groups will hold a “Misa para sa Katotohanan and accountability” at the San Jose Seminary of the Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday.

“We are hoping and praying that the truth will come out now that the defense panel is presenting their evidence… The Mass is another but broader unifying activity,” she said.

She said now is the time to show “how strongly we feel for a conviction after this outcome,” she added.

The impeachment trial will resume Monday next week after a one-week recess.