The Philippine Online Chronicles

Chief Justice Renato Corona has asked fellow justices in the Supreme Court to bring the ongoing impeachment trial against him to a temporary halt and stop the disclosure of bank deposits allegedly linking him to ill-gotten wealth.

On Wednesday, Corona filed a 39-page urgent petition for certiorari asking the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the impeachment proceedings and a writ of preliminary injunction while his appeal remains pending.

Corona claimed in his petition that his right to due process was violated and that the Senate impeachment court committed grave abuse of discretion.

In a separate petition, Corona also asked Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and Ma. Lourdes Sereno, whom he claimed are openly critical of him, to be inhibited from the deliberation of the case.

The SC is set to tackle the pending petitions today during a special en banc session. Security has been tightened at the high court premises as police authorities expect groups to hold protest actions.

Defense spokesperson Tranquil Salvador III explained that their move “is not out of desperation,” adding that they are just using a process which the Constitution allows.

“We already came to a point where we have to sit and rethink. We have to ask ourselves what’s happening now … and what we must do to protect the interest of our client,” Salvador said in a report.

Salvador said the Senate’s issuance of a subpoena for Corona’s alleged bank accounts was a violation of the bank secrecy law. He added that prosecutors should also be held liable for attaching bank documents which were considered confidential.

Meanwhile, lead prosecutor and Iloilo representative Niel Tupas said the defense’s latest move is their last resort.

“It looks like that is their strategy…We expect the defense to do everything because the issue of bank accounts is very critical and crucial,” Tupas said in a report. “Especially the dollar account … in PSBank.”

The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday found out that Corona had at least P24.6 million in five peso accounts with Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) between 2007 and 2010, based on the evidence presented by the bank president.

Justices won’t be subpoenaed

On Wednesday, the Senate impeachment court upheld the “separation of powers” by junking the prosecution’s request to subpoena four magistrates to testify regarding Article III of the impeachment complaint against Corona.

The Senate said in its resolution that it is respecting the “confidentiality of court session,” and that summoning the four justices would be "transgressing the basic principle of separation of powers."

The four justices asked to be subpoenaed are Associate Justices Martin Villarama Jr., Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Bienvenido Reyes, and Presbitero Velasco.