Palace on Corona ‘walkout’: He considers himself exempt

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda

Malacañang on Tuesday night slammed Chief Justice Renato Corona for walking out of the impeachment court and denying the court and prosecution the chance to cross-examine him.

“The man tasked with being the defender of the Constitution, and the upholder of the law, denied the prosecution and the impeachment court, the opportunity to challenge his testimony,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a second statement he issued following Corona’s walkout.

Saying this was “not the behavior of the chief magistrate of the land,” Lacierda said Corona’s walkout “sent the message that his is the only voice that is important and that furthermore, that he considers himself exempt from the basic processes of confronting testimony—the process by which courts discover the truth.”

Lacierda reminded that the Constitution required for all government officials to declare their assets, liabilities and net worth.

“Let us not forget Mr. Corona’s proposal, which he did not allow anyone to challenge by confronting him in court, that to his mind, a Republic Act holds supreme over this clear mandate of the Constitution,” he also said.