Below the Line

Cordially Yours

By AMBASSADOR JOSE A. ZAIDE

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, as presiding officer of the impeachment trial, asks his colleagues to treat Chief Justice Renato Corona cordially.

Observe the Queensbury rules, put on kid gloves, and no hitting below the belt.

CJ Corona surprised everyone with his appearance on TV Channel GMA and ABS-CBN Noli de Castro to give his side of the story.

The jury’s not out on how the Chief Justice fared in his media outreach without professional PR preparation and shooting from the hip.

CJ Corona’s finest hour was his response to President Benigno Simeon Aquno III”s in-your-face De Catalinam at the first National Criminal Justice Summit organized by the Supreme Court. He turned the other cheek… “Hayan na natin, magpapasko na…”

Since then, he has stooped down to fight in the gutter…in a fight that nobody wins.

The $64,000 question now… (oops, will that go to a foreign currency account?)… is if the CJ will be witness in his defense… or if he will get behind the skirt of his wife Christina.

At the start of defense pleadings last Monday, the Supreme Court justices and rank-and-file heard mass…but the Chief Justice also saw red INC.

Movement 188, the so-named group of Batasan signatories for impeachment of the Chief Justice, says that Renato Corona’s refusal to testify in his impeachment trial will doom his defense. They have already started the peristalsis movement.

It would be ironic if a man at the end of his tether were given enough rope to hang.

SPORTS. Former Philippine Olympic Committee President Cristina M. Ramos, accused two Azkal players, Lexton Moy (No. 25) and Angel Guirado (No. 12), of sexual harassment when she inspected their identification as Match Commissioner for the friendly match between Phl and Malaysia at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

These instant sports darlings needn’t go out of their way to prove that rugby is a barbarian’ sport played by gentlemen… and football a gentleman’s sport played by barbarians. FEEDBACK: jaz_aide@yahoo.com.