Loren: If we acquit,
we lift the floodgates

SENATOR-JUDGE Loren Legarda voted to convict Chief Justice Renato Corona, saying that acquitting him would in effect “lift the floodgates” and “sow public distrust” of the judiciary and the government.

Legarda said she was disappointed that the defense had tried to show transparency at a time when it was “rendered moot and practical by the turn of events,” apparently in reference to Corona’s signing of a waiver on his bank accounts.

“Public trust is earned through transparency and voluntary gestures of honesty,” Legarda said.

“If we acquit the Chief Justice, we tragically lift floodgates for public suspicion and widespread distrust,” Legarda said. “it lowers the bar of public accountability of government officials.”