He shouldn’t have walked out on his own trial, said several Cebu lawyers about Chief Justice Renato Corona’s surprise exit during the Senate impeachment hearing yesterday.
“It was a mistake on his part. He should have asked permission from the court”, said Earl Bonachita, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Cebu City chapter.
Bonachita said Corona may have convinced some people with his opening statement but whatever goodwill he earned was lost with his walkout. He said the public is now skeptical of Corona’s statements.
Bonachita said the Chief Justice’s opening statement was too long and was not even mentioned in the impeachment rules of procedure.
Regional Trial Court Judge Meinrado Paredes agreed that Corona’s conduct was improper. If Corona had health concerns, he could have told the court about it so he woul be excused.
“Being a chief justice is not a license to just leave the court without permission,” he said.
Paredes said in all courts, a witness cannot leave without permission. Still, Paredes said he would reserve further comments once Corona is cross-examined today which is an important test of credibility.
“If he has no cross-examination, his testimony is incomplete,” Paredes said.
Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles of the Court of Appeals said he found it “strange” that Corona was allowed to narrate his testimony.
“It seemed an unusual manner of direct examination and should not have been done in a narrative. But let us wait for his cross-examination,” Ingles said, who agreed that it was improper for Corona to leave the hall before being dismissed.
Human rights lawyer Democrito Barcenas said “Corona was finished” after he left the stand.
“He has demonstrated to our people, especially the youth that he is unfit for the high position that he is holding. He has no respect for the law,” he said.
Barcenas, who was appointed by Malacañang as a board member of the Philippine National Oil Co., said Corona showed arrogance even if Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile went out of his way to accommodate him.
Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol said he wants to scrap the law mandating the confidentiality of dollar accounts.
He said everything should be disclosed in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) to monitor the wealth of public officials.
Mary Ann Talaugon, a grade school teacher at St. Theresa’s College, said Corona’s sudden exit made it appear that the Chief Justice committed some wrongdoing.
“That would be the first impression that people will have of his walkout,” Talaugon said.
Davao-based student blogger George Kevin Paquet said the public should not presume guilt on Corona’s part just because he abruptly left the hallt.
“For me, it’s a bigger deal that the prosecution neglected to establish with certainty the connection between him and the alleged wealth that he has accumulated,” said Paquet, author of PinoyTeens.net.
“We could look at him as being guilty or we could also look at that he’s really sick and he just obeyed the court to obey the subpoena,” said Carl Philip Batucan, an incoming sophomore law student at the University of San Carlos.
Whether Corona gets convicted or not, Batucan said Corona’s impeachment trial “will change the country’s political landscape.”