Chief Justice Renato Corona. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), which openly supported convicted Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, also accepted the Senate’s decision.
Roan Libarios, IBP president, said the lawyers’ group respected the ruling of the Senate impeachment court “as advocate of the rule of law.”
“The Senate impeachment court has spoken,” Libarios said. “While we continue to take exceptions to the manner the impeachment was carried out in the House of Representatives, we find the proceedings in the Senate as fair and credible,” Libarios said.
Checks and balances
Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II, president of Mr. Aquino’s Liberal Party, said Corona’s removal from office for lying about his finances showed that the governmental system of checks and balances was working well.
“Indeed, we have shown the world the final maturation of Philippine democracy,” Roxas said. “For decades past, we have always waited upon some accident or fortuitous event to bring about the change we wanted in our political system,” Roxas said in a statement.
“Today is different, because we have proven that by the force of institutional checks and balances, we can impeach, prosecute and convict a wayward chief justice,” he said. Reports from Marlon Ramos and Paolo G. Montecillo