Corona : I’m at peace even if P-Noy hits me

He’s watching more DVDs,  writing his memoirs and thinking of teaching law subjects.

Former chief justice Renato Corona said he also expects to receive another blow during the President’s State of the Nationa Address next week but said he doesn’t bear a grudge against the man whom he largely credits for his ouster from the High Court.

“I was told that certain portions of the SONA will ne devoted for me. Actually, this is nothing new. Since my impeachment in May 29, the president has actually come out still swinging againt me,” said Corona in a visit to Cebu City where he was invited by a Cebuano TV station owner for an interview.

“If he does that, what can stop him. Kaya lang sa Tagalog may kasabihan, kapag naman ikaw ay nanalo na, tapos yong kalaban mo nakadapa na, huwag mo naman sipain yong kalaban mo, dahil sobra na naman yon,” .

(When someone has won, and the loser is down, don’t kick him anymore because that’s overdoing it.)

Corona went to the Cebu Catholic Television Network (CCTN) yesterday upon the invitation of his friend and the station’s chief executive officer Nonito “Tatay Dodong” Limchua.

He was accompanied by his wife Cristina.

The country’s first official to be ousted by impeachment  said he holds no grudge against the president and other individuals who judged him.

“Through all the difficult months my family and I went through, the more I think about it, the more I call God. You can’t call God to help you without forg-iving. That’s all part of being a Christian,” Corona  said.

“I would not wish on these people the very same things they did to me. Hindi naman ako galit from the very start. It was just disappointment. The greatest gift God can give to a person is inner peace, joy, happiness and that’s what God has given to me now,” he added.

After he was ousted by senators in the vote 20-3, Corona said he  decided to  move on with life.

“I’m back to being Atty. Corona, a private citizen. Well, I’m moving on. I now have a time to do everything I always wanted to do, but never had enough time before. I’m talking about writing my memoirs, reading  books that I was not able to read.

As a history buff, he said he watches discs from a wide collection of history DVDs he acquired during trips abroad.

“To me that is also like going to school,” he said.

He said he spends more time with his wife, children and grandchildren now.

“And maybe, in the second semester, I may go back to teaching but that’s still a plan. But I really don’t see myself teaching a regular school or coming to school three times a week. Maybe, more of special lectures,” Corona relayed.

When asked about the  selection of the next chief justice,  Corona said he has confidence in the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) .

“I would like to give due credit to the JBC. I’m sure they will find it in their heart for the sake of our country and our people to submit the five best nominees to the president,” he said.

Corona admitted that political backers are necessary when one wants to be an official of the judiciary.

He said he missed his former colleagues in the High Court and their support.

“What is gone is going to the office, attending meetings and sessions, being guest of honor somewhere, delivering a speech. I had 99 percent of the judiciary behind me, and even most lawyers who know the law. They know what is right and wrong,” said Corona in an interview with television host Lito Ruiz and lawyer Divine Marcial Flores.

Corona later granted an interview with local reporters but limited it to four queries.

He expressed disappointment with the adverse publicity about him and his family.

“There are also, as you know, certain sectors in the media that are very mean and very unkind, very malicious towards me and my family, that probably, I don’t miss,” he said.

Corona recounted what he went through as the impeachment proceedings progressed.

“You know what we went through at the hands of the very cruel sector of the media. No justice of the SC and no justice of any appellate courts, and probably also no judge would want to go through that kind of ruthlessness and mercilessness. Imagine attacking you, your wife, children and your entire family as if you are the most most evil person in the world,” he said.

Corona said the High Court’s decision in the land case involving Hacienda Luisita, which is owned by the president’s family, drew Aquino’s ire.

“I’m convinced that that (Hacienda Luisita case) is the reason. As a matter of fact, it was not only I who thought the same. Almost every lawyer that I came across with warned me even before we decided the case ‘Mag-ingat ka diyan sa kaso na yan. Magagalit sa iyo si presidente,ang pamilya niya, ang Malacañang. That might cause you your job,” he recounted.

Corona also relayed reports that some senator-judges brought along two prepared decisions when the verdict against him was handed down.

“I already knew what the verdict was going to be, who were going to vote against me. Some of them, not all, had two decisions. It was probably an indication of a senator who had two decisions prepared to watch the trending of how their colleagues would be voting. As far as I am concerned, I already knew that was over so therefore I did not even bother to listen anymore,” he said.

Corona said he was just disappointed that some people “swallowed the Malacañang line.”

“Maybe, they were threatened. Maybe, they lost their political independence. Maybe for some other reasons, they went along with Malacañang. (Had it been a court battle), I don’t think it would have the same outcome. The decision was like that because they coverted it into a political game. Well, not political affiliation. Political persuasion would be the beter word,” he said./with SWU Interns Jean Rea Daugdaug and Maria Louella Mancao