Lawyers’ journal
2nd week of the impeachment trial

by Rowena Caronan and Jessa Jarilla

Here are quotes from legal luminaries to explain the highlights of the second week of impeachment trial, where more details of the complaint unfolded, more documents were marked as evidence, and more senator-judges used Tagalog to argue.

• On January 25, 2011, the Impeachment Court ruled that introduction of evidence on impeachment Article II, paragraphs 2.2 and 2.3 are allowed, but not for paragraph 2.4 – the ill-gotten wealth.

“There was no ruling from the impeachment body regarding [Article 2.4], which means that they are not saying no evidence should come in. Some [news] reports are not accurate…If you don’t rule on an article it means evidence can come in….But the body should not refer to it as ill-gotten wealth yet even if evidence shows that there are properties in the name of the Chief Justice, his wife, etcetera; because it is up to the law to presume that. The defense has the right to prove that (Chief Justice Corona’s capacity to buy his properties) through their own evidence.”

– Atty. Victoria Avena, University of Philippine College of Law Professor

• On the motion calling for the inhibition of Senator-Judge Franklin Drilon from the impeachment trial

“No one can order a senator to inhibit. It is up to them. He is an elected representative of the people. Under the Constitution, he is entitled to seat in all proceedings of the Senate unless he is removed in accordance with our rules on ethics.”

– Senate president and presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile

• A review of the impeachment trial’s progress for the past two weeks

“It is slow going. The prosecution is saying they need six weeks. In fact, they need eight more weeks just for Article 2 [of the impeachment complaint]. It looks like it will reach their (the Senate) March 24 break. More or less, it will be two months more.”

– Former Senate President Ernesto Maceda

“The (Benigno) Aquino administration is not addressing the human rights violations. In so doing, it seemingly tolerates those violations under the Arroyo administration.”

– Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Chairperson Jose Maria Sison on his assessment that the impeachment trial is the Aquino administration’s scapegoat from addressing the real problems of the country

“Malalalim na English ‘yan. Ako na mismo na nandito, nag-aaral pa ako, araw-araw na ako nakakarinig ng English dito, minsan may mga puntong hindi mo rin maintindihan (The English language used is too profound. I myself who participates in the discussion everyday and studies the legal matters, I sometimes do not understand some details).”

– Senator-Judge Lito Lapid on the call for senators to use Tagalog more in the discussion so that the public would understand

*The statements were culled from news reports and coverage of ANC and GMA

 

Aside from these highlights from the past weeks, there were many quotable quotes from both senator-judges and litigators.

The second week of the impeachment trial was apparently dominated by Senator-Judge Miriam-Defensor Santiago with her tirades inside the Senate session hall. Santiago, who was unable to attend the first week of the proceedings due to hypertension, made up for her absence with remarks and manifestations which, in some cases, elicited laughter among the audience inside the hall, and most probably from TV viewers monitoring the trial.

“‘Wag na tayong magpa-epal dito, dahil nawawalan na ng gana ang nanonood (Let’s not be scene-stealers here because the viewers are already losing interest).”

–Santiago on the slow pace of the impeachment proceedings

 

“Mr. President (presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile), may I beg please that I should not be called “the lady senator” because it sounds to me “the baby senator.”

–Santiago after Senate President Enrile addressed her as “the lady senator.” Enrile then addressedSantiagoas the “gentlewoman senator from Iloilo” instead.

 

“You come to court prepared. You don’t waste the time of this court.”

–Santiago to Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. when was asked how many witnesses the prosecution panel intends to present

 

“We have to have a time horizon because justice delayed is justice denied.”

–Santiago stressing that the proceedings should be hastened

 

“In this kind of proceeding, which is televised throughout the archipelago, the more evidence we admit, the more the people will believe that our decision has been fair.”

–Santiago’s manifestation during the discussions between prosecution and defense on the rules of court

 

“Only I can scream here and my fellow judges!”

–Santiago to private prosecutor Arthur Lim during the discussion on whether prosecution witness, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares, could testify on the income tax returns of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona and his family

 

In addition to these Miriam-branded statements, here are some notable quotes from the other senators and lawyers in the trial:

 

“Hindi po ako magiging kasangkapan ng maski sinuman at ako po ay hindi gagawa ng pasya na hindi makatarungan” (I will not be used by anybody and I will not make decisions that are not just).”

— Enrile pronouncing that he will not be biased as the Presiding Officer of the impeachment trial

 

“Let us not widen too much the discussion.”

— Enrile appealing to the participants of the impeachment proceedings, adding that the public is becoming impatient already with the long arguments

“We don’t want the public to think that the forces of government are being used (against Chief Justice Corona).”

— Senator-Judge Joker Arroyo expressing his concern with what he calls “a twin move” against Coronawith the BIR doing its own investigation on the ITRs of the Corona family and the Senate conducting the impeachment trial

 

“Our request, your honor, is for the honorable tribunal to be liberal in the, let’s say, asking of questions by the prosecution so that the truth will come out.”

— Rep. Tupas raising the prosecution’s concern on the way the impeachment court has been handling the proceedings

 

“Sinabi po naming hindi na dapat patulan ‘yan (allegation on the ill-gotten wealth), eh ayaw naming maging bastos po naman kaya medyo simple po ang sabi namin… (We already said that it should not be discussed anymore but we did not want to seem rude so we simply said…) The allegations are conjectural and speculative.”

— Defense counsel Serafin Cuevas in response to Rep. Tupas on the inclusion of the allegation of ill-gotten wealth in Article II