Senate court raps Corona lawyer over bribery claim

Jose Roy III

For claiming that senators could be bought, defense lawyer Jose Roy III has been cited for contempt by the Senate impeachment court.

The Senate noted that without offering any cogent proof, Roy claimed in a press conference on February 12 that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa had offered P100 million in pork barrel funds to each senator to defy a Supreme Court order restraining the impeachment court from looking into dollar accounts of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“The implication of the statement of one of your members is rather serious because it, in effect, suggests that this court could be paid in making a decision, and I don’t think that is a proper thing to even think about this impeachment court,” said Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

Enrile, the impeachment court’s presiding officer, handed down the ruling which was prompted by an earlier motion by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

“I think the court feels that, in effect, there is an implied suggestion that there is a quid pro quo in the votes to be obtained from Senate members of this court, which this court considers an indirect contempt of the court. So therefore this court is constrained to cite one of lawyers of the defense, Attorney Roy, for contempt,” Enrile said.

The penalty to be imposed on Roy will be determined by senator-judges during a caucus Tuesday.

The lead defense counsel, Serafin Cuevas, asked, in jest, whether Roy would face “life imprisonment, or the death penalty.”

“No, we don’t go that far,” Enrile said, explaining that the defense should not take lightly such an unproven claim that “would be misunderstood by the public.”

“This court must assert its dignity and honor in this proceeding, and we are going to think about the penalty to be imposed on him commensurate to the degree to what we consider to be an accusation to the members of this court,” Enrile said. “We may be politicians, but we have our integrity and honor that we have earned over time.”

“We welcome the judgment of the court. While we disagree, we have extended our apology,” Roy told reporters after the proceedings.

He pointed out that the decision to hold the press conference was a “collective action.”

Asked why he was singled out, Roy said with a grin: “Well, maybe the most charming one is the object of affection.” With Maila Ager, INQUIRER.net

Originally posted: 8:18 pm | Monday, March 12th, 2012