Senators study ways to remain objective in Corona impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines—Senators are eyeing various methods to keep their objectivity during the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who will sit as the presiding officer of the impeachment court, vows not to watch television or listen to the radio as he studies the Articles of Impeachment during the holidays.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III talked of an “on-and-off switch” in his brain that would help him screen information that might influence his judgment.

Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Panfilo Lacson said they would limit themselves to the pleadings while Senator Pia Cayetano plans to study how court judges remain impartial while studying cases.

However, two former military officers — Gringo Honasan and Antonio Trillanes III—were candid enough to admit that the impeachment trial being a political exercise, they would also be sensitive to public opinion and would take that into account when discerning Corona’s guilt.

“We will be objective. At least, I can speak for myself,” Enrile assured the Inquirer. “That’s why I do not want to listen to any discussion or anything. I want to have an open, clear, serene mind. That has always been my method whenever I handle a case. I do not watch any television. I do not hear the radio. I read. I study the case. I study the rules so that I’m ready to handle the trial.”

Sotto admitted not having the same level of discipline as Enrile.

But he likened his screening technique to an on-and-off switch in the brain that would allow him to filter in only what is formally presented as evidence to the impeachment court.

“Whatever you see on television does not really matter. What is important is the evidence presented to the impeachment court.  So whatever information I would receive outside the court, imagine the brain having an on-and-off switch that screens everything. Turn it on during the trial and off afterwards. That’s not really hard to do,” Sotto said.

Lacson said that even if Corona is on cozy terms with his nemesis, former President Gloria Arroyo, this should not be a reason to shut out the defense’s presentation of evidence.

“Speaking only for myself as a senator-judge, I will really be very objective and listen to the presentation of evidence. I will listen to the presentation of the defense and I will base my decision on what I would see,” he said.

Pimentel said objectivity would not be an issue for him “because I was not the one attacked.”

Asked to explain, he said: “I will limit myself to the pleadings and testimony of witnesses. I was not the one attacked (in the articles) so I should not feel anything.”

Cayetano plans to “read up” on how judges in trial courts maintain objectivity during hearings.

“I don’t think objectivity comes naturally because we are all born with our biases. I genuinely believe that we must learn the art of impartiality and I will actually be reading up on how to develop the art of impartiality and how judges practice this,” she said.

Cayetano is worried that media reports would somehow influence not only her perception of the case but those of her fellow senator-judges as well.

“How much do you listen to? How much do you watch? How much do you engage or allow yourself to be taken in by emotional statements of either party? We have to be careful. I might be proposing we need to take a course on that,” she said.

But while most senator-judges vowed to do their best to maintain objectivity, two former military officials noted that an impeachment trial was also a political exercise and hinted that their view of the case could be affected by what they termed “the pulse of the people.”

Honasan said an impeachment trial “is more a political than legal or even constitutional exercise.”

“This is a political process and I will recalibrate constantly my moral compass, keep my ears on the ground and try to feel the pulse of the people,” he said in a phone interview.

“We will be applying the rules of court and the rules of evidence…. As a senator-judge, I would consolidate all information (and) try my best to study,” Honasan added.

In another interview, Trillanes took the same position as Honasan’s, insisting that an impeachment trial was “a political trial.”

“Of course most of the lawyers would try to think it is a legal trial because that is their area of expertise but I’m looking at it differently. I am a senator of the republic. I am a representative of the people so the pulse and opinion of the public is center in this whole trial. And that’s how I will judge, based on public opinion on one hand while appreciating the evidence on the other,” Trillanes said.

“If you will look at how the impeachment trial of (US) President Clinton was decided, it was decided along party lines so it’s just as simple as that. We won’t complicate it,” he added.