Prosecution’s witnesses strengthened Corona defense—Jimeno

MANILA, Philippines—The prosecution has unwittingly strengthened the hand of the defense with the witnesses they have recently presented, a spokesperson for the team defending Chief Justice Renato Corona in his impeachment trial said Thursday.

“A blitzkrieg complaint only results in a weak position because as we are undergoing trial, the prosecution is still looking for evidence to fit their pre-designed script,” lawyer Karen Jimeno said.

Corona was impeached last December by 188 lawmakers, who signed the impeachment complaint, which was immediately transmitted to the Senate.

Jimeno said the two witnesses presented by the prosecution on Tuessday backfired at them.

Jimenez claimed that Noli Hernandez, Megaworld senior vice president for marketing and sales on Day 9 of the impeachment trial provided the defense with “fresh ammunition” to counter the prosecution’s claim of a P10-million discount given to Corona for the purchase of a 303.5-square-meter penthouse in The Bellagio at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City. Jimenez explained that Corona and his wife, Cristina, had merely availed themselves of a price “reduction.”

Another witness, Director Benito Cataran of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on Day 10 of the trial told the senator judges that once the license of a corporation has been revoked, it is already “dead.” Senator judges questioned the relevance of his testimony to the allegation of non-disclosure of Coronona’s statement of assets, liabilities and networth (SALN.)

“You need to prep your witness but you also need to do a lot of research most especially since the onus of proving what are alleged in the “verified” impeachment complaint is with the prosecution,” Jimeno said.