Second impeach complaint to be filed vs Corona if acquitted—prosecution

Chief Justice Renato Corona. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – A second impeachment complaint will be filed against Chief Justice Renato Corona in the event that he will be acquitted by the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, the prosecution panel said Tuesday.

Marikina Representative Romero Quimbo told reporters in a press briefing that in case the Senate would render a decision acquitting Corona they would accept it and would simply just file another complaint come December this year.

“It’s not true that we will not stop going against him,” Quimbo said. “But we cannot also stop our constitutional duty to carry out the process of impeachment when there is sufficient evidence.”

He said that new evidence came out during the course of the trial which they could use in a second complaint.

Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara said that they could include issues of ill-gotten wealth as well as tax evasion that came up during the testimony of Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares.

Angara said that they could make a “stronger, more potent impeachment complaint” with the inclusion of the new evidence uncovered in the current impeachment proceedings.

An impeachment case cannot be filed against the same official in the same year a similar complaint was filed. Chief Justice Renato Corona was impeached by the House of Representative on Dec. 12, 2011.