Defense lawyer to overeager Corona critics: Just wait and watch

Defense counsel Jose Roy III

MANILA, Philippines—Defense counsel Jose Roy III said Tuesday they were tired of “insinuations” that Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona was going to be “less than honest” in his testimony before the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court.

“Stop insinuating that he is going to be less than honest, wait for him to speak,” Roy said in an ambush interview before Tuesday’s proceedings.

“I expect there will be attempts to hurry him [and] to pre-empt the order of his presentation, but I think that at this point we owe it to just let him tell his story,” Roy added.

Roy said “we are quite tired of all the lies about what he intends to do, what he plans to do, what his opponents think he’s going to do. Why don’t we just wait and watch?”

He also asked the media to stop asking him what Corona was going to say in his testimony, saying he had no idea. “He will say what he needs to say when he’s asked,” Roy said.

He slammed the circulating stories about Corona leaving the country or that he would not come to testify. “We’re sick and tired of these concerns about saying that he’s a less than honorable man.”

Roy also bashed Lawyer Harry Roque for posting in the microblogging site Twitter that he was quitting from the defense panel.

“Does it look to you like I’m quitting?” Roy said “I don’t know where he gets his gossip. Gossip is a woman’s endeavor.”

Roque posted on May 20 “Sinking ship:  first Karen Jimeno [goes] missing. Now, Judd Roy withdrawing as counsel. Bye, bye Corona”