Chief Justice Says He Has Nothing To Gain, Everything To Lose

'I Will Accept Verdict'

Chief Justice Says He Has Nothing To Gain, Everything To Lose

By REY G. PANALIGAN and ROLLY T. CARANDANG

MANILA, Philippines — Embattled Chief Justice Renato C. Corona Friday declared that he will accept whatever verdict the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, will hand down on the complaint filed against him.

“When I submitted myself to the Senate from the start, I trusted our senators that they will do their duty responsibly. Whatever verdict they will have, I will accept it,” he said in an interview over radio station dzRH. If it is a conviction, “I will have no choice but to step down,” he said.

But if acquitted, Corona said he will not resign as Chief Justice, saying he wants to continue the judicial reforms he had already started since he was appointed chief magistrate.

The Chief Justice said he believes in the impartiality of the senatorjudges and is confident of a judgment of acquittal based on his “solid defense.”

On Monday, Corona will start presenting his counter-evidence on the Articles of Impeachment filed against him by the House of Representatives.

“If I lose in this battle, I already laid everything I have on the ground, including my name and my family. I will lose my retirement pay and pension. I have nothing to gain here but everything to lose,” he said.

“But this fight has become bigger than a personal battle. I’m fighting for the judiciary as an institution and also for my crusade for the poor, small farmers and employees whose rights are being undermined, and children and women who are victims of abuse and trafficking,” he added.

In the same interview, Corona scored Justice Secretary Leila de Lima who said his media statements are sub-judice.

“Bakit pag sila ang magsasalita, pwede. Bakit pag-iba, hindi. Pagnahulihan ng pirated CDs at DVDs, pwede. Pagnahulihan ng AK-47, pwede. At pag may mga junket ang mga taga-Pagcor, pwede. Bakit pag-iba, hindi. Hindi ba double standard iyon? ” Corona said. (Why is it that when they talk, it’s alright. But when others do so, it’s wrong. When one is caught with pirated CDs and DVDs, it’s alright. And when there is a junket for Pagcor officials, it’s alright. But when others do something, it’s wrong. Is this not double standard?)

Corona was apparently referring to some misdeeds committed by President Aquino's officials like Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ronald Llamas who was recently embroiled in controversy after being caught with caliber AK-47 and buying pirated CDs and DVDs.

On allegation he is a midnight appointee, Corona said this issue had already been resolved even during the time of then Chief Justice Reynato Puno. He explained that his appointment as Chief Justice was not covered by election ban, adding this was also upheld by the en banc decision of the Supreme Court.

“May tamang proseso po sa pagkaka-appoint sa akin as Chief Justice na para akong dumaan sa butas na karayom bago ma-appoint. Hindi po basta basta ang maging Chief Justice. It was decided by procedure,” Corona said. (My appointment as Chief Justice passed through a process. It was like passing through the eye of the needle before I became the chief magistrate. It was decided through proper procedure.)

In the same interview, he expressed sadness that he and his family were really hurt by so many allegations against him which he described as pure lies. He reiterated he has solid evidence to prove that all allegations against him are wrong.

“All kinds of bad adjectives were hurled against me and we are really affected by it because we are not used to this kind of problem,” Corona lamented.

Corona also clarified that he lost trust not in the PSBank as a whole but only in the PSBank Katipunan branch which, he said, leaked his bank records. He reiterated he will explain his dollar accounts when the defense team starts presenting evidence.

The Chief Justice also lamented how the President is very much focused on him and his impeachment case when he should instead address problems about unabated oil price hikes, unemployment, poverty, and the upsurge of crimes.

‘Ungentlemanly’

Meanwhile, the prosecution panel said it would be “ungentlemanly” for Chief Justice Corona to let his wife Cristina testify in his stead before the Senate impeachment court.

“It’s such an ungentlemanly act for the chief magistrate to let his wife take the witness stand when he himself should be the one doing it. Corona should not let his wife take the bullet for him,” panel spokesman Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada said.

Corona’s lead counsel former Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas said Mrs. Corona will be one of the defense witnesses and that her testimony would most likely focus on her husband’s statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) and their multimillion-peso secret bank accounts.

Cuevas, however, was non-committal on the possibility of Corona testifying in his own trial. In a separate interview though, the Chief Justice said he was willing to take the witness stand if allowed by his legal counsel.

Tañada said that while Mrs. Corona’s testimony would also be essential to the case, the prosecution would rather hear the top magistrate himself respond to the allegations in the impeachment complaint.

Don’t Hide Behind Wife

He also dared Corona to face the Senate impeachment tribunal and stop using his wife as a shield.

“There are many questions that only the chief justice can answer. The time has come for him to explain his side of the story and he could only do that if he testifies in his defense. Please don’t hide behind Mrs. Corona’s back,” Tañada said.

In the same radio interview, Corona revealed that a senator whom he described as an ally of President Benigno S. Aquino III tried to convince him – through an emissary – to relinquish his post as chief magistrate prior to the filing of the impeachment complaint.

The Chief Justice did not name the senator but, he merely said: “There is another senator-judge who sent an emissary and his message was not about term-sharing but about my resignation.”

“I did not say anything (to the emissary) because I didn’t want to dignify (his message). I know that at that time, tension was already escalating. I didn’t want to aggravate the situation,” he said.

Answering the query of radio commentator Joe Taruc on the identity of the senator, Corona said: “Let’s not mention the name, it might aggravate the senator’s anger.”

At the same time, Corona stood pat on his statements that Senator Teofisto Guingona III discussed with him the proposal of “term-sharing” as head of the judiciary and that President Aquino consulted him on the setting up of a Truth Commission that was eventually declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Corona said the lunch meeting with Senator Guingona was not “purely social lunch” as the senator had claimed.

“He was my student in Ateneo Law School. And we have not been in contact for many years since he entered politics. It sounds unreasonable to believe that after so many years he would call me and invite me just for lunch,” he said.

Asked if he would seek the inhibition of Senator Guingona as judge of the impeachment court, Corona said: “It’s up to him. You can’t impose on a judge whether to inhibit or not. That’s his call.”

The Chief Justice also reiterated his previous statement that he was consulted by President Aquino on the setting up of the Truth Commission.

He said he could recall clearly the words of the President: “He told me it’s just between the two of us.”

The Office of the President had confirmed there was a meeting between the heads of the two branches of government. But the discussion about the Truth Commission between Corona and President Aquino was denied.