Aftermath

Enrile cites blunders of the
Defense Panel

Senator Enrile stated the following reasons why the majority of Senator judges voted for conviction of SC Justice Renato J. Corona.

1. Presenting the Ombudsman as a "hostile" witness in the mistaken belief that she did not have proof of Corona having much money.
   
   
2. The disrespectful walk-out by Corona in his first day of appearance in the trial proper.
   
   
3. The conditions imposed by Corona on his offer to sign a waiver,for authorities to check his bank accounts, on Sen. Franklin Drilon and the 188 congressmen who signed the articles of impeachment to sign a similar waiver.
   
   
4. The sale of Basa-Guidote Enterprises Inc. (BGEI) shares worth P34.7 million to Corona’s daughter Carla Castillo for a measly P28,000, a fact which came out from the cross-examination of a former sheriff.
   

But the most telling argument for his conviction came from the mouth of Corona! He inadvertently admitted on his second and final day of appearance that he had 2.4USDollars and 80.7 million in banks which was undeclared in his SALN.

Supreme Court Chief Justice position is vacant.

The high office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has become vacant immediately after the Senate Impeachment Court pronounced CJ Renato Corona guilty on Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment.

Senate sends Corona's 'notice of conviction' to SC.

Excerpt:

The Senate on Wednesday has sent the “notice of conviction” of Chief Justice Renato Corona to the Supreme Court. The notice was received by the Office of the Clerk of Court since the Court Administrator reportedly told the messenger that his position is co-terminus with the chief Justice.

Corona was the first Chief Justice in the country’s history that underwent impeachment trial as well as the first Philippine official to be booted out of office after being found guilty of an impeachable offense.

And erstwhile CJ Renato Corona has accepted the judgment of the Impeachment Court.
Corona: I accept the verdict..

The presiding officer of the Impeachment Court has warned the SC (Supreme Court) not to reverse
the conviction of Corona as it may lead to a CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS.
JPE warns SC against reversing guilty verdict.



But apparently this does not stop the head of the defense panel Serafin Cuevas to entertain the thought of going to the SC.
Cuevas: Going to SC an option.
This is a waste of time for all the people. A historic decision has been made, and Cuevas should learn to accept this momentous decision. It just wont work anyway, and he is looking for TROUBLE!


Meanwhile the Palace is now scouting for a replacement, hopefully not a rubber stamp CJ!
Palace scouting for CJ replacement
I will be a little alarmed if Sen. Franklin Drilon will be chosen. He is a very loyal ally of the president and an active member of the LP(Liberal Party), and that fact may rub off on some members of the Judicial Bar Council which will present a formal list of candidates to the president.

This is just the start of troubles for Corona!
Tax, wealth raps eyed vs Corona

One good effect is that the Supreme court, meeting en banc, with Justice Antonio Carpio as acting Chief Justice, has ordered that SALN of all judges and justices be published (freely available, upon valid request).

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?philstar: SC orders full SALN disclosure of justices, judges

Already, Enrile has said that Pinoy should not hire an outsider, and Sen. Escudero stated that Justice Carpio should not have accepted the temporary position of Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court out of delicadeza. It is our opinion that the senators are saying out of their field. Let the SC still function and give free reign to President Noy to pick a SC Justice. Whatever happens, Filipinos should be alert and aware of what is happening.



Palace is scouting for CJ replacement. Among the names floated are Sen. Frankline Drilon, BIR Commisioner Kim Henares, Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza.

So what is left? We will be waiting for the Judicial Bar Council to convene.

Corona found guilty!, hoisted with his own petard, or trapped on his own explanations.

A momentous historical moment has occurred today! A mighty and highly placed public official, no less than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been found guilty of not declaring dollar and peso account in his SALN. Sweet justice, if a lowly government court interpreter can be dismissed for not declaring her market stall in her SALN, how much more a man expected to be of the best moral character, probity and impeccable credentials? Justice has triumphed and we hope that the cancer of graft and corruption will be gradually eliminated from the sickest man of Asia.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been found guilty, today May 29, 2012, by a vote of 20-3, of not declaring his dollar accounts and cash deposits in his SALN, a violation of RA 6426. The senate did not value much his reasons, the interpretation of CJ Corona of RA-64326 as giving absolute confidentiality of dollar deposits, and for the comingling nature of his peso deposits. The main information itself came from CJ Corona! when he declared he has 2.4 million US dollars and 80 million pesos. Why did Corona chose to reveal these damning facts? He wanted to justify his ability to afford the many properties he bought. Unfortunately, he did not present any documents in his opening statement on the last day of witness presentation!

Unfortunately for him too, the testimony of the hostile witness for defense, the Ombudsman, made an explicit presentation of his bank account transactions, which contributed to his admission that he has bank deposits in order to mitigate the damaging repercussion of the Ombudsman's revelations. In other words, Corona fell into his own (defense) trap, "hoisted with his own petard", as Shakespear may say. So much for the brilliance of the lead defense council Serafin Cuevas, a former law professor, a former SC justice himself, but still esteemed by his former students.

We are amused by the usual antics and theatrics of Senator-Judge Miriam Defensor Santiago. She, and senators Bongbong Marcos, and Joker Arroyo casted the not-guilty votes.

Thank God, the Impeachment trial hearings has ended with a judgement tomorrow!

We are relieved that the impeachement trial is soon to end with a decision expected tomorrow. Yet we are alarmed at some developments:

Rumours are circulating that defense will appeal any decision to the Supreme Court, of all places!, in case a verdict of "Guilty" will be pronounced tomorrow. This is a waste of time. Only the Senate is allowed to hold impeachment trial, its decision is final. It will provoke a real constituional crisis if Corona's camp will use the Supreme Court as a safe refuge of scalawags in government, which may include the highest officials of the land, from presidents to supreme court justices.

On the other hand, there is news that a second impeachment trial will be prepared by the lower house with lessons learned from current impeachment trial in case a verdict of "Not Guilty" will be given. We hope that the lower house will wait for a few years. This will be too much to muster for the common Filipinion people.

Give the people a break! Respect the decision of the Senator-judges!


For more informaiton.

Speech by Feliciano Belmonte, for the prosecution.

Come on! Is the Chief Justice trying to pool wool over our eyes?

Here is an effective photo from one of my FB groups.

Raissa Robles' Humor in the Impeachment Trial has more of these GMA/Corona situation comedies.

Its Friday May 25, and it is a make or break for Renato C. Corona

The damage caused by Corona's dramatic walk-out may be lessened today if Corona, who as Cuevas promised in [1], is determined to be present today May 25 at his impeachment trial (day 42).This in spite of doctors advising him not to do so. Why? His defense counsel has told him it is quite crucial for him to be present. to be able to say he is sorry and to face a cross-examination from the prosecution panel.

Now the latest news[2] is that Corona is still in the ICU of Medical city, Thursday night. Maybe he needs to be wheeled dramatically into the Senate room. Real impartial judges will not be impressed of course.

Analysts have stated [3] that Corona had severely weakened his case by offering a conditional waiver and walking out.

We wish Corona the best of luck. and we fervently hope he will not suffer a fatal heart attack while on the dock.






Further reading:

[1] Corona to apologise to Imneachment Court




[2] Corona still in ICU, lawyers say.




[3] abs-cbnnews: CJ missed opportunity after waiver, walkout.

The waiver in the SALN of government employees and officials

I have been signing SALNs for many years and I really dont give much thought to it since I am just an empoyee with less that a million peso worth of assets and am without administrative responsibilities (SALN applies to both employees and officers!). In the Corona impeachment trial, Corona dramaticaly presented a conditional waiver to allow any authorized govt agencies to look into all of his bank accounts, including dollar accounts and promised that he will submit it provided 188 reps and Sen. Franklin Drilon also make a similar waiver. However, the current SALN already includes such waiver for the Ombudsman! Here is the pertinent waiver which we sign every year while employed by the government.

I hereby authorize the Ombudsman or his duly authorized representative to obtain and secure from all appropriate government agencies, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, such documents that may show my assets, liabilities, networth, business interests and financial connections, to include those of my spouse and unmarried children below 18 years of age living with me in my household covering previous years to include the year I first assumed office in government.