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01/28/2012
An important issue in the trial of Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato Corona that should be immediately cleared by the Senate impeachment court, is if it is trying the respondent as Chief Justice or associate justice.
This is important due to the fact that there have been thus far, already too many documents being passed off by the prosecutors as “evidence” that is played up in the media, even when they are not as yet accepted as evidence, may not even be material to the case, especially all those Statements of Assets, Liabilities and networth (SALns) and even those income tax returns and Apha list from the SC as well as the family members of the CJ’s ITRs disclosed publicly by Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) chief Kim Henares, who was already giving out conclusions of the capacity of the Corona children to purchase such and such properties, and merely based on a one-time ITR, which was quite unprofessional of her.
This issue was brought up by Senator-Judge Francis Escudero, who wanted a clarification on whether respondent Corona was being impeached as an associate justice or a chief justice, because, as rightly pointed out by him, the CJ can not be tried on acts committed in the the past positions he held — including that of an associate justice of the high court.
Immediately, Noynoy’s Senator-Judge ally, Sen. Francisco Pangilinan, a.k.a “Mr. Noted”, rose to read out the list of impeachable officers that the Constitution provides, mentioning associate justices. Such a manifestation, however, is completely out of whack, because the issue is not who are impeachable officers but whether respondent Corona is being tried as associate justice or the chief justice, since these are two different positions. The respondent certainly cannot be tried as both an associate justice and a chief justice.
If Pangilinan and the rest of Noy’s judges-allies in the Senate, as well as their prosecutors, insist on trying Corona as both CJ and associate justice, then obviously, the Articles of Impeachment must first be amended, since several impeachment articles submitted by the House prosecutors allege acts committed by Corona as Chief Justice, and not as associate justice.
The prefactory statement alone says that “Never has the position of Chief Justice, or the standing of the Supreme Court, as an institution, been so tainted with the perception of bias and partiality, as it is now: Not even in the dark days of martial law, has the chief magistrate behaved with such arrogance, impunity and cynicism.” This then refers to Corona in his position as CJ.
Some alleged acts in the complaint do refer to Corona whem he was still an associate justice, with regard to his “voting record” in the high court, which ground was the House of Representatives and the prosecutors’ charge of bias and partiality toward the previous president, Gloria Arroyo.
Still, just as an official who was vice president and became president after, cannot be impeached for acts done when he was vice president and neither can respondent CJ be charged for his acts as associate justice, since Corona is being charged and tried as CJ.
It doesn’t matter that the Charter lists the officials who can be impeached. That Pangilinan argument is a non-sequitur. It does not follow that just because the CJ was an associate justice and an impeachable officer, he can be impeached for his acts as associate justice and as CJ. That’s illogical and moronic reasoning.
But this is what happens when the meddlesome and vindictive Noynoy who, in his position as the chief executive of the land, does not heed the separation of powers principle, and gives his subservient allies in Congress marching orders to rush and railroad the impeachment of Corona, believing that, through this impeachment complaint, the CJ would be forced to resign, which is the reason for all the black propaganda being spewed by the prosecution team, Noy and his aides have been doing in trying and convicting Corona by publicity with the end view of his resigning.
What Noynoy and his lapdogs in the House do not seem to realize is the fact that he too, can be impeached on the same grounds his allies charge the CJ, such as partiality and bias toward his KKK whom he quickly absolves of all charges and also of violating the principle of the separation of powers, failure to list his assets in his SALn, and his “illegally acquired wealth” as his SALn shows, in just one year, a giant leap from P15 million to P55 million, among others.
Impeachment for Noynoy is just a matter of time — or the time when the people turn against him.