Source : Manila Bulletin
The decision by the 23-member Senate, written by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, presiding officer of the Senate impeachment court, was reached in a caucus of the senator-judges Monday, before Corona’s lawyers were to begin his defense.
In its decision, the court decided not to entertain the defense’s motion that the Chief Justice be acquitted of the charges in Articles 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8.
The court said it is ruling the dismissal of the five charges “with the clear understanding that no evidence from both the defense and the prosecution panels will be received by the impeachment court” on the articles mentioned
The court also ruled that it “will not render any vote on articles 1, 4, 5 6 and 8 and no verdict of the impeachment court will be rendered on articles 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8.”
The House filed eight articles of impeachment against Corona with the Senate last Dec. 12.
Tranquil G.S. Salvador III, a member of the defense panel, had said that a lack of a formal declaration or decision by the Senate impeachment court on its motion to acquit Corona would put the five articles ‘in a state of suspended animation.”
The three remaining against Corona are failure to disclose his statement of assets, liabilities and networth (SALN), flip-flopping on the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) and his bias in favor of the Arroyo couple- former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and former First Gentleman Jose Miguel ‘’Mike’’ Arroyo – by signing a temporary restraining order (TRO) allowing their “hasty” departure from the country last December.
The Arroyos’ departure was aborted by the Department of Justice (DoJ) which used a DoJ watch list as basis in stopping them.
The five charges dropped by the prosecution also involved betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.
Before the caucus, Enrile had said he does not see the need for the Senate to make a formal decision on the issue but he nevertheless threw the defense panel’s motion to the members of the impeachment court for a collegial decision.
The defense had wanted the impeachment court to throw away the impeachment complaint for being defective.
Monday was the first day for the defense to rebut the allegations against Corona.
For its first witness it was scheduled to call to the stand Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco.
Tiangco, who volunteered to testify for the defense, has said the articles of impeachment were railroaded in the House.
He said he has since received threats of expulsion from the House if he persists in discussing before the impeachment court how the House allegedly acted with haste to pass the articles last December.
Tiangco has since resigned as chairman of House Committee on Metro Manila Development and as member of the majority bloc.
Monday a congressman who signed the impeachment articles slammed the House leadership for allegedly threatening to expel Tiangco.
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino asked Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II not to impress on the public that testifying and telling the truth is a disgraceful act.
Palatino said truants among congressmen should be the primary targets of House leaders who want to maintain public respectability for the chamber.
“My unsolicited advice to the House leadership: Expel absentee legislators first. It isn’t dishonorable to testify and speak for what you believe is the truth,” said Palatino, who was among the 188 signatories of the articles of impeachment.
Palatino said Tiangco was correct in chiding the House leadership for bullying him.
