'Acquittal by TRO' slammed

MANILA, Philippines - Prosecutors of the House of Representatives do not want the Supreme Court (SC) to meddle in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, the deputy lead prosecutor, reminded the SC that the Constitution vests in the Senate the exclusive power over impeachment cases.

The SC would be violating the Constitution if it stops the impeachment trial, he added.

Fariñas said he doubts whether the Senate would recognize a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the SC.

He agrees with Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, impeachment court presiding officer, that no government agency, save the “might of the military,” could stop the impeachment trial, he added.

Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada, a prosecution spokesman, said that Corona is afraid of the prospect of his peso and dollar accounts in the Bank of the Philippine Islands and Philippine Savings Bank being held up to scrutiny.

“If he has nothing to hide, he should not be afraid of the opening of those accounts,” he said.

Corona had asked the SC to stop his trial two days after the impeachment court summoned officers of the two banks to testify and bring pertinent records on his bank accounts, he added.

Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said the Davide case, which Corona invoked in his petition for a TRO, is different from the present impeachment.

“In the impeachment process involving then Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., the Supreme Court barred a second complaint even though it was filed by one-third of the membership of the House,” he said.

“In the Corona case, there is only one impeachment complaint.”

In the Davide impeachment, then Camarines Sur Rep. William Felix Fuentebella filed the first complaint based on the alleged misuse of the judiciary development fund.

The justice committee dismissed the case.

Shortly after, a group led by then Tarlac Rep. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. filed a second complaint supported by one-third of all House members, the minimum number required for an impeachment case to be directly transmitted to the Senate.

The SC issued a TRO against the second complaint and ordered the House not to consider it since it was filed within the one-year impeachment immunity Davide enjoyed.

“There is no comparison between the Davide case and the Corona case,” Gonzales said.      

“They are entirely different,” Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, a prosecution spokesman, said, adding it puzzles him that Corona and his lawyers are still raising the issue on the verification of the impeachment complaint.        

“That is water under the bridge,” he said.

“The Senate impeachment court, on Day One of the trial, ruled on the verification issue by recognizing the impeachment proceedings in the House as valid and deciding to proceed with the trial of the Chief Justice,” he said.

The TRO petition of Corona could be another attempt of Corona to delay his trial, he added.

Quimbo said the defense “game plan” is for Corona to be acquitted in the impeachment trial through a TRO from the SC.

“We view this petition (for TRO) with deep alarm,” he said.

“These steps are disturbing because they virtually want the trial proceedings in January and February thrown out. They are not just asking for a TRO to stop the Senate impeachment court... effectively, the petition filed by the defense this morning asked for declaration of the impeachment complaint as null and void.

“What they are actually seeking is an acquittal not by the impeachment court of the Senate but an acquittal through the issuance of a TRO by the Supreme Court.”

Corona is hiding something that he finally sought the help of his colleagues in the SC, Quimbo said.

Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said if Corona has nothing to hide, he should allow the impeachment court to scrutinize his bank accounts, including that with the Philippine Savings Bank which supposedly contains deposits of $700,000 or roughly P34 million.

“What is Chief Justice Corona afraid of?” he said.

It has already been established that the Bank Secrecy Law does not apply to impeachment proceedings, Angara said.

Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada described the defense’s move as “a direct attack” on the jurisdiction of the impeachment court.

Corona is already running scared of what may happen once his bank accounts are presented before the impeachment court, he added.

Tañada said Corona’s move can be seen as an affront to a coequal branch of government.

“(This is) a direct attack on the jurisdiction of the impeachment tribunal,” he said.

Tañada said under the Constitution, the Senate acting as an impeachment court has exclusive and sole jurisdiction over impeachment proceedings.

– With Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez