Defense challenges impeach complaint validity

MANILA (6th Update, 4:15 p.m.) — Lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona challenged anew Monday before the Senate impeachment court the validity of the complaint filed against the chief magistrate. Defense lead counsel Serafin Cuevas said they find nothing in the impeachment complaint that states the 188 congressmen who signed it were convened at any time.“Impeachment must be treated with caution and not haphazardly done,” he said. Lawyer delos Angeles, another counsel for the defense, also chided the 188 lawmakers for the “blitzkrieg” endorsement of the impeachment complaint last December 12, “bowing to President Benigno Aquino III’s wish to see Corona out of the Supreme Court.”It is a ploy to weaken the checks and balances in government, delos Angeles said, as he made an appeal to the senator-judges not to allow “the guillotine to fall on judicial independence.”

“Regrettably, we have witnessed the unusual rubber-stamping by the majority of the House of Representatives who never even read the articles of impeachment. The blitzkrieg endorsement to the Senate was principally undertaken by the party-mates of the President,” delos Angeles said. Aquino, who disapproved Corona’s installation of Chief Justice in May 2010 supposedly in violation of election ban, had publicly campaigned for the magistrate’s removal. As a result, delos Angeles said the government “lent its full and awesome powers to interfere in the impeachment proceedings to oust the Chief Justice and to intimidate the Supreme Court.”Cuevas also said Corona was not given due process, thus the impeachment should be null and void. He said also scored in his closing argument Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales for overstating Corona’s dollar accounts using an unauthenticated document. Carpio-Morales, citing documents from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), recently told the court that Corona allegedly owns some $10 million spread out in 82 accounts in five banks. The AMLC report covered the years 2003 to 2011. There are a total of 423 transactions, according to the Commission on Audit, adding inflows reached $28,740,497.93 while outflows hit $30,758,878.71.But Corona’s lawyers disputed the number as the magistrate only had four accounts after enlisting the help of accountants. Cuevas said the Ombudsman’s testimony on the AMLC report is inadmissible, useless and a mere “scrap of paper.”There was no proper attestation in the AMLC report presented by Ombudsman Morales,” Cuevas said. He said evidence not authenticated should not be accepted in court, such as the AMLC report. He also said that the defense panel was able to prove that those who filed the accusation had unfounded claims of $10 million belonging to Corona. Cuevas said Morales admitted that there was no criminal case against Chief Justice, but conducted investigation because of strength of accusations.“We were able to show that the chief justice does not have 45 properties, as the prosecution said, but only five,” he also stressed. Last March, Land Registration Authority (LRA) Administrator Eulalio Diaz III testified that the Chief Justice does not have 45 real properties as earlier reported by the House prosecution panel, which has since trimmed the list to 21.As to Corona’s failure to declare all his assets and properties in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), the defense panel admitted the delayed declaration, but said it was not intentional because of problems with the Chief Justice’s properties.
“We pray that our senators will be enlightened, that justice will prevail and that unity will return to the republic,” Cuevas said.
Corona has been accused of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution hurled by the House of Representatives, where 188 members moved to elevate the articles of impeachment in December last year.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2012/05/28/defense-challenges-impeach-complaint-validity-223812

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