Drilon accused of ‘lying’ over alleged Corona lawyers’ feud

Jose Roy III

MANILA, Philippines — Defense lawyer Jose Roy III said Senator Franklin Drilon was “lying” when he claimed that the head of the defense team had wanted him cited for contempt and detained for allegedly talking a lot.

“Drilon is lying. You can ask Cuevas,” Roy said in a text message on Friday, when asked if he had any misunderstanding with Chief Justice Renato Corona’s lead counsel, former Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas, or any member of the defense team.

Drilon claimed that after Corona’s walkout last Tuesday, Cuevas allegedly made this remark against Roy: “Ayan daldal ng daldal. I-contempt nyo at ikulong nyo ng 10 araw, hindi ako mag o-object [There he goes, giving a lot of talk. I won’t object if you cite him for contempt and jail him for 10 days].”

But the senator stood firm when told about Roy’s statement.

“There were at least 10 senators present in the room when Cuevas said that,” Drilon said in a separate text message.

Roy was uncertain whether or not he could attend the resumption of the impeachment trial of Corona this Friday, citing prior engagements with foreign clients.

“I will try to catch up…I did not expect the trial to continue up to now,” he added.