Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. INQUIRER PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA
MANILA, Philippines – It was a mere formality but Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile nonetheless ended the 44-day trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona with a flourish as he voted to convict the chief magistrate, joining 19 others before him.
In his speech, Enrile said that he disagreed with Corona’s excuse of using the law and his family to hide his dollar and peso accounts.
“With all due respect, the Chief Justice’s reliance on the absolute confidentiality of dollar accounts was grossly misplaced,” Enrile said, referring to Corona’s refusal to disclose his dollar accounts.
“Assuming that any part of such deposit belonged to any third party, the respondents could have indicated these as corresponding liabilities that could have indicated his true and real networth,” he added.