Manila: A senator is calling on prosecutors and defence lawyers in the impending impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona to desist from using the hearing as a venue for courting public sympathy.
In a statement, Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday warned against the possibility of the impeachment trial degenerating into a public spectacle as he scored what he called an “undisciplined” public presentation of evidence in Corona’s upcoming impeachment trial.
On Dec. 12, the 14th Congress of the House of Representatives made history after they moved to impeach Corona for alleged graft and corruption, betrayal of the public trust, and violation of the Constitution.
The move at by the House marks the first time that the House voted to impeach a Supreme Court Chief Justice, the highest official of the judicial branch.
Under the country’s governance set up, which is patterned after that of the United States, an appointed official which gets its mandate from the people, can only be judged by a body that is elected nationally, which in this case is the senate.
Blatantly violated
Lacson said he cannot sit idly by as a senator-judge while the rules on impeachment trials, which prohibit the parties concerned from making comments and disclosures on the merits of a case, are blatantly violated.
“If we allow such undisciplined public presentation of evidence by any party in utter disregard of the ethics of their legal profession to continue, the Senate may lose control of the situation and I am certain it will damage not just the Senate as an impeachment court but the sacredness of the whole impeachment process as well,” he said.
Lacson was apparently referring to a disclosure made during a press briefing Tuesday by lead impeachment prosecutor, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., that Corona and bought a residential condominium unit for P14.5 million (Dhs 1,217,167) in suburban Taguig City.
Tupas, challenged likewise challenged Corona to produce his statement of assets and liabilities to debunk his insinuations that the source of money to purchase the asset was aboveboard.
Corona and the Supreme Court’s other justices have not made their statements of assets and liabilities public since a 1992 decision that shields them from “deceptive requests” for information that could lead to intimidation, harassment and fishing expeditions.
He noted the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials unambiguously prohibit senator-judges, as well as prosecutors, the person impeached, their counsels and witnesses “from making any comments and disclosures in public pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial.”
The Senate, convening as an impeachment court, will start on Jan. 16 the impeachment trial of Corona.
Lacson said some parties that continue to make public comments or so-called “disclosures” on the case threaten to make a mockery of the proceedings.
“We should not allow such mockery to go unchecked. Either we throw our impeachment rules out of the window or straight to their faces,” he said.