‘Let Corona recover’, prosecution spokesman says on pending cases

Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines — Cases that will be filed against former Chief Justice Renato Corona following his conviction may have to wait as to give him time to recover, a spokesman for the prosecution told Radyo Inquirer 990AM Friday.

Marikina Representative Miro Quimbo said, in a live interview, that the penalty, removal from office, after Corona was convicted by the Senate impeachment court was “extremely harsh.”

“The pain that we have brought to him and his family as well as the removal, of being etched in history as the first ever public official to be convicted through an impeachment is a heavy penalty on its own,” Quimbo said.

If the authorities see that there can be a case against the former Chief Justice, Quimbo said it should be pursued but for now “maybe we should give him a little bit of respite. Let him recover. The complaint that will be filed against him can wait until he recovers physically.”

“They should also give him his due process. He should be given a chance to be heard. But the case that will be filed against him is no longer a political exercise, it should not be used for publicity,” he added.