MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/23 May) – Chief Justice Renato Corona has a lot to thank the Senate for. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile was too lenient in letting him read an opening statement, and later to proceed to a narration of facts with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, instead of subjecting him to the standard question-and-answer format for witnesses, when he appeared on Tuesday for his trial at the impeachment court.
The opening statement allowed Corona to lash at President Benigno Aquino III, the prosecutors, the media, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, and even a departed relative of his wife in relation to an intra-family feud over a piece of property and a family-controlled corporation that has become an issue in the impeachment trial.
If one is to make a quantitative appraisal of the impeached Chief Justice’s opening statement, much of it dwelt not on facts that can either be refuted or validated in a cross-examination. In a manner of speaking, he was speaking like he was addressing loyal, subservient court employees in one of the several rallies and masses held in his turf, the Supreme Court.
When the prosecution tried to stop him from reading further his statement, Corona shot back saying he should be allowed to talk to the Filipino people. And each time Enrile asked how much longer it would take him, the respondent would say “sandali na lang po” (it would not be long). The “sandali” however proved to be an eternity for the audience that had expected the Chief Justice to answer categorical questions on the floor.
Luckily for Corona, Enrile showed extreme liberality by allowing him to go on with his tirade and irrelevant declarations despite the objections made by the prosecution. The prepared opening statement alone took around two hours, mainly because the Chief Justice proved to lack savvy as a writer as shown by the repetitive, if annoying, narration of his personal angst over what he perceives to be the real motive behind the impeachment. Or maybe, the bad writing was deliberate so as to cause further delay to the proceedings.
Corona’s utter disregard of rules governing testimonies showed his disdain towards the idea of testifying at the Senate, if not at the Senate itself, sitting as an impeachment court. If he appeared at the trial, it was only because he had no option left after his lawyers committed the gross blunder of making Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales testify as hostile witness.
Deep in his mind however Corona remains convinced that as Chief Justice his position is superior to the constitutional authority of the impeachment court. In fact, Chief defense counsel Justice Serafin Cuevas today told the Senate that Corona’s appearance on Tuesday did not mean that he was withdrawing [his] petition at the Supreme Court questioning the jurisdiction of the impeachment court. Cuevas added they have even asked the Supreme Court to expedite its decision on said petition.
No wonder that when he was through with his PowerPoint presentation that sought to refute allegations concerning his dollar accounts that were not disclosed in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, he casually declared: “The Chief Justice of the Republic of the Philippines wishes to be excused.” He then stood up, picked up his folder, and left without asking permission from the presiding officer, to the consternation of Enrile and the other senators.
As the Chief Justice, nobody expected Corona to ignore an elementary courtroom courtesy. But arrogance could blind a person to the point of irrationality.
Arrogance aside, many observers opined that the apparent walkout suggested that Corona did not wish to be cross-examined, as he knew his own narration had weak points that can be exploited by the prosecution.
But whatever the reason, Corona was plainly being bastos. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno writes mainly on the environment, human rights, and politics. He can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com)