Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III during the impeachment finale. PHOTO BY RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines—Quite literally, the removal of Renato C. Corona as chief justice of the Supreme Court came relatively cheap.
As of Saturday, the Senate had spent only around P3.5 million for the 44-day impeachment trial, according to Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III.
Sotto said the final count would not hit the P5-million budget earlier set aside by the chamber for the historic impeachment trial of the country’s top magistrate.
“The expense was conservative considering the gravity of our responsibility,” he told the Inquirer in a phone interview.
But the political cost of the trial was nothing compared to the expense, particularly for Corona.
Corona was removed from office after 20 of the 23 senators voted to convict him of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for not disclosing the bulk of his assets in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.
Sotto, who was among those who found Corona guilty, said the chamber’s ruling more or less reflected the general public sentiment.
“I think it was reflective of the will of around 80 percent of the people,” said Sotto, who banked on what he called “conscience vote.”
Sotto belongs to the so-called “macho bloc” of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, which also includes Senators Gregorio Honasan and Jinggoy Estrada.
Only Senators Joker Arroyo, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Miriam Defensor-Santiago voted to acquit the Corona.
Sotto said he and other senators who voted to remove Corona could live with their decision.
“We can sleep soundly at night,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Senate has converted into a resolution an Estrada privilege speech commending Enrile’s work as presiding officer of the impeachment court.
“I congratulate the Senate President not only for his legal acumen and gifted skill, knowledge and appreciation of the minute details of the law and judicial processes, but also the probity and impartiality in the handling of the most difficult episodes of the trial,” he said.
“In this exercise, we have demonstrated to our people and to the international community that we uphold the majesty and dignity of the principles of justice, the rule of law, and of the Constitution.”
Estrada added: “This trial is now a testimony to our common and collective desire to uphold the law and dispense justice wherever it may fall.”