Santiago says Corona won’t resign despite 2nd planned impeach complaint

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said Chief Justice Renato Corona will most likely not resign even if the Ombudsman was preparing to file a new impeachment complaint should the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, acquit him.

“Siguro hindi na mapa-resign yan maski takutin pa ng iba na may pangalawa pang impeachment complaint (Perhaps he won’t resign even if he’s threatened with a second impeachment complaint),” Santiago told reporters Tuesday after she asked Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales during the trial whether she would file another complaint.

Santiago asked Morales if she was going to use the info gathered from her ongoing “fact-finding investigation” for the purpose of filing another impeachment complaint by December 2012, the time when the one-year ban on the filing of complaint will expire.

Morales replied that she will file another complaint “if warranted.”

Santiago afterwards warned Corona during the proceedings that another impeachment complaint was in the works.

“If he is acquitted, he will not resign if a second impeachment complaint is filed against him,” Santiago said.

Santiago believes that Corona “has already undergone self-examination with respect to the question of whether he should just resign,” in order to avoid “black propaganda against him, and [raising] funds for his lawyers, and [answering] insulting questions, or otherwise undergo humiliation.”

Santiago said that Corona was already past the stage where he might regret not resigning in the first place to avoid all the trouble.

“I think he already passed that stage,” Santiago said. “Kaya tingin ko lang hindi yan siguro magreresign (That’s why I think he won’t resign).”