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The trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona began today at the Senate, with the Senators acting as an impeachment court. There were several key developments in today’s hearing, to wit:

• Corona’s motion for a preliminary hearing was denied.
• The motion to cite the prosecution team for contempt was dismissed due to lack of standing by the movant.
• The prosecution gave their opening statement, through Rep. Niel Tupas, calling Corona a “loyal servant of GMA” and showing the properties he allegedly obtained. He also declared Corona, due to his misdeeds, unfit to remain Chief Justice.
• The defense gave their opening statement, through Atty. Eduardo de los Angeles, by reiterating that the Chief Justice does not own 45 real estate properties as alleged by impeachment prosecutors and that President Aquino is antagonistic to the Supreme Court because of its ruling in the Hacienda Luisita case.
• Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile advised both parties to exercise some “degree of caution” in exposing evidence outside of the impeachment court.
• The lawyers for both parties entered their appearances.

Chief Justice Corona was present at the hearing, together with his wife and Court Administrator Midas Marquez. It is expected that the impeachment trial will last anywhere from 1 to 6 months. The prosecution has stated that they will begin presenting their witness by tomorrow.

The impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona took a different route from the case of former President Joseph Estrada and former Ombusdsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Instead of a filing made by a citizen and endorsed by a Member of the House of Representatives, the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment was signed by 188 Congressmen which more than complies with the one-third requirement under Section 3 (4), Article XI of the 1987 Constitution. As a result of this fast-track process, the verified complaint no longer passed thru the House Committee on Justice to determine if it is sufficient in form and substance. Moreover, because of this method, the verified complaint already constitutes the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed

Under Section 3 (6), Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, the Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation. Since for this particular case the person on trial is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, only the Senate President shall preside. To get the ball rolling, CJ Corona would have to be formally issued a writ of summons and a copy of the Articles of Impeachment after which he would have 10 days to give his Answer. Once the Senate receives the Answer, the prosecution team from the House of Representatives will have five days to submit their reply, should they opt to do so. The concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate is needed to convict the Chief Justice.

If convicted, the Chief Justice shall be removed from office and shall be disqualified to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines. He will also be liable and subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment according to law. It is, thus, clear that the liability does not end at the Senate, the person impeached shall also be held for appropriate action as a result of his illegal and improper acts.

Related Links:

The Impeachment Process

Senate Rules on Impeachment

In a sudden turn of events, the House of Representatives virtually impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona after gathering signatures of more than one-third of its members. As reported by inquirer.net, the eight grounds of impeachment against CJ Corona are:

1.) Betrayal of public trust due to subservience to Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during her presidency, from the time of his appointment as Supreme Court justice to his midnight appointment as Chief Justice. Examples are his partiality in the Megapacific contract decision, Fernando Poe Jr. case, the Lambino versus Comelec case (people’s initiative), David v Arroyo and Neri v Senate (executive privilege).

2.) Culpable violation of the Constitution for non-disclosure of the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

3.) Undue closeness to Macapagal-Arroyo as shown by the appointment of the Chief Justice’s wife to a seat in the Bases Conversion and Development Authority.

4.)  Betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution when he issued a status quo order ante that had suspended the hearings of the House justice committee on the impeachment case against previous Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

5.)  Voting on the cityhood cases and the creation of the province of Dinagat.

6.) Creation of the ethics committee to look into the plagiarism case against SC Justice Mariano del Castillo, which resulted in clearing Del Castillo of any liability.

7.) Temporary restraining order on the travel ban on Mrs. Arroyo.

8.) Refusal to account for judicial development funds, special allowances and other court collections.

It is expected that the Senate will receive the Articles of Impeachment in the next few days and will convene itself as an impeachment court. The surprising twist came after CJ Corona gave a defiant speech in the Supreme Court this morning saying that he will face any ouster plot and fight all those who dare to destroy the court and system of justice under the Constitution. In the past few weeks, President Benigno Aquino III and CJ Corona have been at loggerheads due to different issues that have pitted the executive branch of government against the judiciary, such as the TRO issued against the watchlist order on Congressman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the midnight appointment of CJ Corona, the junking of the Truth Commission and other decisions by the Supreme Court which have been adverse to Malacanang. In the past week, President Aquino even took to task CJ Corona in his speech during he 1st National Criminal Justice Summit, saying that the high court was making it difficult for the executive to prosecute officials involved in graft and corruption.

During his inauguration, President Aquino even opted to take his oath of office before then Supreme Court Associate Justice now Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.

During his State of the Nation Address this afternoon, President Benigno Aquino III appointed retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio Morales as the new Ombudsman replacing Merceditas Gutierrez. In appointing Morales, the President declared, “When the new Ombudsman, former Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, takes office, we will have an honest-to-goodness anticorruption office, not one that condones the corruption and abuses in government.” The President also expressed his optimism that with Morales at the helm, we will see the filing of the first major case against the corrupt and their accomplices.