Senator Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos. AFP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Senator Ferdinand Marcos II voted for the acquittal of the Chief Justice Renato Corona based on Article 2 of the impeachment complaint.
Marcos said that Corona’s alleged failure to declare his dollar accounts in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) was not an impeachable offense.
“The framers of the constitution intended culpable violation of the Constitution to mean a woeful and intentional violation of the constitution. Betrayal of public trust meanwhile was meant to be a catch all phrase to encompass all acts violative of the oath of office which render the officer unfit to continue in service,” Marcos said.
“Both grounds however, were contemplated to exclude unintentional or involuntary violations errors made in good faith and honest mistakes in judgement. Granting therefore that the CJ [Chief Justice] violated the SALN law, this certainly does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense,” he added.