Quiet, Please

SENATOR Panfilo Lacson yesterday lamented the public disclosure of evidence to be used by the prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The media had come out with a copy of a deed of sale for a condominium unit worth P14 million purchased by Corona and his wife in 2009. The copy was furnished by the House prosecution panel.

Rep. Niel Tupas, a member of the prosecution panel, said that they would use this document as evidence against Corona to prove their allegation that the Supreme Court head failed to submit correct information in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN). But Corona said that the purchase of the condominium unit was reflected in his 2010 SALN.

The Senate, convening as an impeachment court, will start on January 16 the impeachment trial of Corona. The House of Representatives impeached him last December.

Lacson said he "cannot sit idly" by as a senator-judge while the rules on impeachment trials, which prohibit the parties concerned from making comments and disclosures on the merits of a case, are blatantly violated.

"If we allow such undisciplined public presentation of evidence by any party in utter disregard of the ethics of their legal profession to continue, the Senate may lose control of the situation and I am certain it will damage not just the Senate as an impeachment court but the sacredness of the whole impeachment process as well," he said.

He noted the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials unambiguously prohibit senator-judges, as well as prosecutors, the person impeached, their counsel and witnesses "from making any comments and disclosures in public pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial."

But Lacson said some parties that continue to make public comments or so-called "disclosures" on the case threaten to make a mockery of the proceedings.

"We should not allow such mockery to go unchecked. Either we throw our impeachment rules out the window or straight to their faces," he said.

What violation?

The lawmakers-prosecutors took exception to Lacson’s admonition arguing they have not violated the impeachment rules.

One of the spokesperson of the 11-man prosecution panel, Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo, said the public has the right to know about the basis of filing articles of impeachment against Corona.
Quimbo likewise said it should be the jury, the senators, that should refrain from giving opinion in the public as they should base their decision on the merits of the case.

In a press briefing yesterday, Quimbo asked Senators to insulate themselves from the issues discussed in the media to help the public understand the impeachment trial against the chief magistrate.

“We should remember to talk about the rationale of Rule 16 of Impeachment. What makes it different is that this is a jury trial... It’s different because it is a political process where senators (acting as jurors) can actually make a judgment based on their appreciation for all intents and purposes,” Quimbo said.

Despite Lacson’s admonition, Quimbo vowed to continue issuing statements to enlighten the public about the developments in the impeachment case against Corona.

Contempt

The defense lawyers of the embattled Chief Justice said House prosecutors should be held in contempt for "talking too much" even with the Senate having already convened itself as an impeachment court.

Former Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas hinted that the House prosecution team could have violated the Senate’s rules on impeachment procedures when it held a press conference to discuss the 303.5-square meter unit at the plush Bellagio in The Fort, Taguig City, purportedly owned by Corona.

Cuevas noted that parties in the impeachment trial, including the senators, sitting as judges, are prohibited from discussing in public the merits and demerits of their positions in accordance with the rules of the Senate.

Cuevas said the prosecution is continuously trying to “demonize” the Chief Justice before the public by disclosing piecemeal information about his assets which should be presented during the trial. With Hector Lawas