Prosecution: We’re not losing our case even if Senate yielded to SC decision
MANILA, Philippines- The prosecution team said that the way the senator-judges voted to abide by the Supreme Court’s Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) does not show that the prosecution was losing its case.
Marikina Representative Romero Quimbo said in a press briefing that they don’t see the voting as “a victory that can be indicative of how the senate will rule … to convict or to acquit.”
The impeachment court voted 13-10 in favor of respecting the TRO issued by the Supreme Court in favor of Philippine Savings Bank’s petition disallowing the opening of Chief Justice Renato Corona’s alleged dollar accounts.
“Opening these dollar accounts will lead us into a direct conflict with the Supreme Court. We, in the prosecution, vehemently disagree with that position, but if that is the position taken by the majority, we will accept it,” Quimbo said.
“But certainly that is not an indication of how the voting will be when it comes to evaluating the evidence,” he said.
Quimbo said that the impeachment court decided “on a purely constitutional issue,” and wanted to avoid a “long and difficult situation where the senate and judiciary are colliding.”
Article continues after this advertisementThe senate instead decided to move forward with the trial because there were many other evidence available “which is sufficient for them to come to a decision,” Quimbo said.
Article continues after this advertisementQuezon representative Lorenzo Tanada said that they still believe they can win their case on the basis of the evidence they have presented.
Tanada said they believe that “on the evidence laid out by the prosecution team regarding the various titles, several peso accounts in BPI and PSBank, there is enough evidence to convict the Chief Justice for betrayal of public trust.”
“We have more than sufficient or more than enough [evidence]. But in our mind, to get a complete judgement that is going to be acceptable whether it is a conviction or an acquittal, we need to see all the available evidence that is already there,” Quimbo said.
