Corona still sees himself lucky

MANILA, Philippines—Chief Justice Renato Corona considers himself lucky for being given the chance to prove himself and what he stands for.

Speaking to reporters during the 9-day novena at the Supreme Court he said, “Rarely can you find someone who was given the opportunity to prove himself and what he stands for.”

Corona has been accused of favoring former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her cases that reached the Supreme Court, which is one of the eight allegations contained in the Articles of Impeachment.

He is the first Chief Justice and Associate Justice to be impeached by 188 congressmen.

Lawmakers who are part of the prosecution team already revealed that Corona owned a 303.5-square-meter unit at the high-end The Bellagio condominium in The Fort, Taguig City which, may not be included in his statement of assets and liabilities according to Representative Niel Tupas Jr.

Members of the prosecuting team recently stated that if Corona’s SALN will be made public, it will already be tampered with.

High Court Spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said continuous statement challenging Corona to release his SALN would be futile.

“There is an existing case here (Supreme Court) regarding the SALN and there is already the impeachment proceedings. So, we can either talk about it at the pending petition or the impeachment proceedings,” Marquez said.

He added releasing the SALN would be delving into the merits of the impeachment case.

“It could have been very simple if there is no impeachment proceedings. This (impeachment) complicates everything. We will refrain from discussing the merits of the case,” Marquez said.