Inside Philippine politics & beyond

My observations on the impeachment trial pre-climax

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By Raïssa Robles

I thought I would try an experiment here by updating while covering the closing arguments of the trial of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

***

UPDATE, May 28,2012, 7:19 PM

 We all did it, guys. 

The entire Filipino nation went through a tedious, grinding process to make a head of a branch of government accountable without anyone successfully resorting to a coup or a constitutional crisis.

An impeachment is part of the maturation of democracy.

And we did it, without any foreign intervention.

Of course, the process is not yet complete. If the vote is acquittal tomorrow, will hell break lose? Or only on the Internet? 

If conviction, will the Supreme Court come to Chief Justice Corona’s defense? 

The latest report I’m getting is 20 for conviction. But of course that’s unverified. 

A lot of people must be busy all through tonight. Walang tulugan yan sa gapangan :) 

***

From Alan:

Fariñas put several points very clearly and memorably

1. First is that Corona’s defense is one big palusot, intended to awkwardly defend unexplained wealth
2. Second is that Corona failed to declare 98 per cent of his cash wealth
3. Third is that when he had the choice, Corona opted not to declare 98 per cent of his cash wealth

***

Senator-Judge Miriam looks sternly while Prosecutor-Congressman Rodolfo Farinas speaks to the nation. His somewhat probinsiyano accent in Tagalog probably went down big with the nation.

But he had to make the case with the judges first.

 

***

Senator-Judge Joker Arroyo looks deep in thought. Perhaps contemplating his political future? He CAN run again. But which party would have him?

Would Erap’s party field him, knowing he was the one who exposed the Jose Velarde account as the congressional prosecutor in Estrada’s 2001 trial?

As for Senator-Judge Pia Cayetano, how does she feel about rendering a verdict on the high government official who had sworn her in as a senator in the first place.

Three other senator-judges were sworn into their office in 2010 by Corona, the very  man they have to judge now. They are: Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Miriam Santiago, Pia Cayetano and Vicente Sotto.

Please see my story –

CJ Corona swore into office four senator-judges: GMA swore in one

 

***

Did Senator-Judge Edgardo Angara have a headache?

***

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas has just finished speaking. He seems to be off his rhythm. His cadence is all wrong.

Cuevas off his rhythm

Here below is a screen cap of Sen.-Judge Lito Lapid listening to Cuevas.

The ANC anchors are talking about the possibility that perhaps Cuevas is really not addressing the senator-judges but the justices of the Supreme Court.

That Cuevas is laying the groundwork for running to the SC on this.

***

Hmmm. House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte wants in on the trial. I thought he was satisfied being mayor of Quezon City or being the House Speaker. Can a Senate run be in the offing?

***

Senate presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile is asking the defense what in your opinion would be the injury to be prevented, or prejudice to be avoided warranting the depositor of a foreign currency deposit to be permitted not to include his foreign currency deposits in his SALN if he is a public officer or a public employee?

Cuevas – the probability of kidnapping, extortion and so on, especially with the trend of criminality today.

Enrile – was that contemplated by the laws? Related to this first question of mine, will a public officer or employee who maintains a foreign currency deposit incur the punitive penalty of RA 6426 if he would reflect that deposit in his SALN?

Cuevas– I do not see that probability but it would amount to a vitiated consent

Enrile – you are forgetting that the law allows the exposure of a FCDU by express provision of RA 6426 if the depositor himself would do it. There’s no secrecy law in this country that prohibits, or inhibits or proscribes the depositor from revealing his own deposits. What is prohibited is for third parties to reveal it. Therefore they are penalized. But the depositor is not.

Enrile – do you consider that sentence as a madnatory provision that requires to be obeyed by a public officer/employee of the PH? A publiic officer or employee, shall, upon assumption of office and as often thereafter as may be provideed by law, submit a declaration under oath of his assets, liabilities and net worth. Do you consdier that command of the people or was it something that can be disregarded?

Cuevas – I don’t think it must be something disregarded . But there are rights of the despositor that arises from a different law.

Enrile – if this is a sovereign command, will disobedience of this command constitute a culpable violation of the Consitution?

Cuevas – I would not … unless that facts are known to me.

Enrile – I’m sure all of us graduates of UP went through roman law. What is culpa?

Cuevas – intentional

Enrile – No. There are four kinds of culpa… We’ll go to elementary school book in roman law. What is culpa?

Cuevas – I’m not in a very good position to recall. Maybe I was absent when it was taken.

Enrile – Maybe that’s your bad luck. What is the difference between culpa and dolus?

Cuevas – maybe negligence.

***

Is Enrile trying to indicate that perhaps one does not even have to say one displayed good faith or bad faith in not disclosing his wealth? The mere fact of not disclosing so much wealth already means a display of bad faith?

This reminds me  Corona’s landmark decision involving the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth stashed in Swiss banks. Corona ruled that the court need not even establish the money trail or establish whether or not it was ill-gotten. The mere fact that it was grossly disproportionate to the  salaries he earned was enough to establish that this was ill-gotten wealth.

Hmmm.

***

For this very important day,  Senator-Judge Bongbong Marcos is sartorially correct, with his tie color-coordinated with his justice robe. Wonder how he will vote.

Will he vote to convict the very man who deprived his family of nearly a billion dollars in Swiss deposits or acquit him because he does not want the son of the “usurper” Cory Aquino to be politically stronger?

 

***

In the end, the senator-judges will vote while weighing how it will help or harm their political future and how the same kind of weapons thrown against Corona can be used against them.

Not an easy task.

I hear voting percentages like 20-4 for conviction but I’ll wait for the actual voting.

An abstention is actually an acquittal vote.

Sixteen votes are needed to convict.

I can only think of two other cliffhanger Senate votes that really, really mattered to the life of the nation. One was the vote on whether or not to retain the US bases. The other was on the agrarian reform law.

After the trial, Enrile can finish his auto-biography. He was the ultimate outsider who became THE insider to vast wealth and power.

I recall him as a much younger man. It was during Martial Law when I first interviewed him and he was being intrigued against by the late Armed Forces Chief Fabian Ver and Imelda Marcos. Enrile was then positioning himself to become Ferdinand Marcos’ successor.

I recall that he had this captivating smell of power about him.

Some people just exude power. I’m afraid that Prosecutor-Congressman Niel Tupas does not.

Comments

  1. Thank God this one is out of the way. Marcos is really a disappointment to me, I thought he will sway to vote guilty. I am not surprised kay Arroyo at Santiago. Villar vote has no sincerity on his part, you can tell the way he delivered his speech. It’s all because he needed a vote for his wife intent to run.
    I would like to thank you Raissa for an excellent job seeking for the truth and digging materials and information for us.
    I agree this is just a start and we still have a lot of things to do for the betterment of our beloved country.
    Raissa you can count on me to be there to continue on what we have started.

    • I just now realized that Marcos voted for acquittal to spite Enrile, knowing JPE was leaning for a guilty vote.

      • When Bongbong voted, the tally was 11-2, and he knew by then that the guilty verdict is in the offing.

        Raissa’s suggestion…Will he vote to convict the very man who deprived his family of nearly a billion dollars in Swiss deposits or acquit him because he does not want the son of the “######r” Cory Aquino to be politically stronger?

        Or maybe, Bongbong is gunning for 2 birds with one shot.

        • True, Corona inflicted harm on his Bong2 family before but that was in the past. Now, there’s a fresh case that he and his sibling’s are directly charged. Which one will it be – the past that you know or the new one that may cause you greater harm. I guess you know the answer to that.

          Of course, you’re also right. Casting his vote the way he did, it’s 2 birds in one stone….against Enrile and Aquino at the same time. One way or the other, it may take a while, the wheels of justice will eventually get them.

  2. What struck me in this article was your statement that you first interviewed JPE when he was a young man. Which would make you about his age?! If so, my respect for you just doubled!

    • @magic,
      in Feb. 1986, martial rule was snapped by people’s power just after the snap election in Nov. 1985. ninoy was gunned down in 1983. i was born in 1960. everything is vivid to me. jpe of course was much younger man then at 62. now he is 88. 26 years is more than 2 1/2 decades. gets mo magic?

  3. … your observation did jolt my head… you may be right with House Speaker Belmonte… it was a big surprise why he was given the privilege to do an oral argument when during the entire 5 month trial he was nowhere… hmmm

  4. Raisa, with all the efforts you put in it is very commendable, you are really a Pinoy who wants justice. My family and I salute you. We are not living in PH at this time but have the plan to spend our remaining life in PH, and hopefully, this is the start of a very promising future of our country. In 1986, I was part of a group of ADB employees that participated the 1st EDSA, I was touched, cried and was totally happy. I remember one thing when I left the our house at that day (Feb 26) my children asked me where I am going and I said to EDSA sabi nila DAD huwag ka ng pumunta magulo doon. I said anak this will be not for me but for your generation and generation to come. Prospect of PH at that time was so encouraging and promising but it got lost along the way. I pray to GOD that this is the real start. Thank you Ms. Raisa.

  6. I said earlier that the vote would be unanimous for conviction on condition that all senators would be in their sound mind.  Meaning  that senators who are certified fools would have lucid interval while voting because fools do not change their minds.

    It appears that the three who voted not guilty were MAD.

    M – arcos
    A – rroyo
    D – efensor-Santiago

    Final result:  20 : 3.  My guess is right after all.

  7. Hope our country emerged stronger from this. Im not in for a witch hunt but count me in if we need to lobby for more trasparency and better accountability among our public officials :) mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

  8. The Philippines just took a baby step forward…

    We can do it one step at a time.

    Again thank for Raissa and Alan Robles for this blog.

    Let us all continue to be vigilant and pro-active in our continuing democracy.

    One of the things we can do is to correctly vote for the right representatives this coming elections.

  9. 20-3

    Ang galing.. sana maging ganyan din ang boto sa RH Bill at at FOI Bill…. ituloy napo natin ang daan sa pagbabago…

    • @ TAHIMIK,

      Tama ka, ipasa na ang RH Bill at ang FOI para sa ikabubuti nang Bayan. mga corrupt lang naman ang talot sa RH Bill at FOI Bill na ito dahil may gustong itago at nababawasan ang kanilang pansariling pakinabang…

      BongBong, MDS at Joker hinding hindi namin kayo makakalimutan/nakakasuka na kayo. mga TUTA.

    • On he RH bill, something for us to read: raissarobles.com/2011/05/29/jesuit-priest-lawyer-bernas-strikes-again-on-side-of-the-reproductive-health-bill/

      Raissa has touched on the subject of the FOI initiative in a recent SALN-related article: raissarobles.com/2012/05/06/sc-justices-military-police-top-brass-should-disclose-their-salns-to-public-csc-chief/

  10. It’s done. That closes a chapter of Philippine History… and opens another one. Thanks, Raissa and Allan, for all you’ve done. And to all CPMers, *group hug*!!! =D

    Moving on, moving forward!

    • gawin na lang syang information desk officer sa SC o d kaya mag resign na lang sya.

    • if he’s serious, there’s a second career – the Miss Universe Pageant :-)

    • He lost his touch.

      Now his magician is expelled.

      Midas is contemplating his SC future.

    • Seriously, he should have a face to face meeting with Delsa Flores to understand the true meaning of this.

    • Pwede siya magtayo ng laundry sa Faura.

      Signage:
      P23 per kg Wash-dry-fold
      P28 per kg Wash-Dry-Press
      P30 per kg Unexplained wealth

    • @ madflip,

      Sampahan na rin nang kaso yan si midas. marami rin tinatago yan tulad nang among si thief justice nato corona.

      • ang pangarap ko para kay midas d’judas ay gawin siyang notaryo publiko sa kanto ng padre faura at taft ave. he is a lawyer who never had a fair sense of judgment, pwe..

    • Kumuha na lang siya ng puwesto sa Robinsons’ at magtinda ng ukay-ukay.

  12. So ang ibig ba sabihin ni MDS, komo halos lahat ng nasa gobyerno ay mga corrupt kaya hayaan na lang makalusot ang mga palusot ni Corona?

    What happened to the graft and corruption buster during the time that she was still not a politician as the BI commissioner? What happened to her campaign “plataporma” during the 1992 Presidential election? Sayang ang boto ko sa kanya… mabuti na lang hindi siya nanalo!

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKDtG7A9ogA&w=420&h=315%5D

    • I think she is still bitter Cory did not vouch for her.

      I read Mel Changco’s anecdote about her (at Rappler)…she seems to be vindictive.

    • That’s politics. May waiver na ba si MDS?

      Hindi ko din maintinidihan sa mga nalulungkot (kuno) on the death of juducial independence.

      Ano ba ang gusto nila, independent corruption?
      ]
      Speaking of BI Commissioner, some years ago I met a schoolmate(a lawyer) who was then specializing in naturalization and immigration related problems. He said that during the term of a certain BI Commissioner who is still very active in the government today and frequently seen on TV that during the term of that particular commissioner all under the table fees went up.

    • @yckir… I watched that youtube footage…pres’l election niya…she said “…mga GAGO sila!…” then again “…hindi ako takot sa mga GAGO na yan!…”

      This one she said “…the voice of the Filipino people is the voice of God!…”

      favorite four-letter word na yan pala niya!

      But she did not hear last May 29/2012 the “voice” the Filipino or of God but her favorite four-letter word AGAIN…”ano itong mga ka GAGO han ninyo?…”

      Then Sen. Enrile cut her off …”will the lady senator wind up your (____) !”
      MDS: “I thought my 2 minutes is UNLIMITED!”
      then…she FORGOT to announce her vote…..leaving the podium…
      then went back to say …”will you be happy to hear that my vote is NOT GUILTY ?” then leaving the podium…

      that’s how I recall her saying that…a question style of announcing her vote…(am I correct?) Very unexplainable talaga…

      the judges at the Hague haven’t met her yet…

    • buset yang si villaroyo. his vote for acquittal but changed it to conviction after revilla cast the 16th against coronarroyo. halatang bitter na bitter pa rin si kumag. buset.

  14. Yay!!!!

    Congratulations everyone and to the Filipino people

    Let us all thank God and Mama Mary for all their blessings and pray that we can now move forward for a better Philippines

  15. my thoughts VILLAR charges his vote to Not GUILTY…di tally ang explanation nya sa VOTE nya…kakandidato kasi asawa nya