The Philippine Online Chronicles

A large group of retired government officials convinced that Chief Justice Renato Corona was President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s midnight appointee, called for his leave of absence during the impeachment trial which will start on Monday.

"CJ Renato Corona must go on leave so as not to further undermine the credibility of the Supreme Court," said the group under the name Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO).

FSGO, which is composed of former cabinet members, was formed to challenge the then administration of Arroyo.

The group said the impeachment was not an attack on the Supreme Court as an institution, as opposed to the allegations of Corona, but an act “to redeem and strengthen the high court.”

"Believing that public office is a public trust, we hold sacred the principle of good governance. For public institutions to have good governance, their leaders must be of unquestioned integrity,” they said in a statement.

Earlier, both the prosecution team from the House of Representatives and Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz urged Corona to go on a leave, but Supreme Court (SC) spokesperson Midas Marquez said, “There is nothing in the Constitution or any law that requires him to leave his office while facing impeachment proceedings. So he will continue to perform his functions.”

Cadiz said, “I don’t think he can be effective both as a Chief Justice and as a defendant in an impeachment case, one or the other will take all of one’s time.”

On the other hand, the prosecution team was more concerned with the SC being dragged into the trial.

“It is incumbent on him to go on leave so that the SC as an institution cannot be further dragged, misused or abused by the respondent. Nakikita na natin iyan, we see the spokesman [Midas Marquez] of the SC constantly talking and defending the Chief Justice who is being sued in his individual capacity.” Prosecution panel spokesperson Rep. Miro Quimbo said.

Haunted by previous decisions

Meanwhile, the country’s city mayors through the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), a group of mayors from 122 cities, expressed their “unequivocal support” for Corona’s impeachment in a statement.

The group said the actions of the justices had “tainted the independence of the judiciary, thus justifying the upcoming impeachment trial to right the wrongs committed.”

Among the reasons behind their stand is the high court’s reversal of an earlier ruling declaring the conversion of 16 municipalities into cities as unconstitutional.

“It was an illegal conversion,” said Alaminos Mayor and LCP secretary general Hernani Braganza. He added that the 16 applicant-cities have failed to comply with the requirements for cityhood, including that of size, income and population.

“The question that begs to be asked is, what forced the hand of the Chief Justice to disregard the fundamental rules of the institution he must steer?” the group asked.

Nevertheless, they said they are not expecting that the SC change its ruling.

Hoax evidence and a pretrial

On Saturday, Corona continued to push for a pretrial hearing that would supposedly prove the “fatal defects” in the impeachment complaint.

“While the House of Representatives has the power to initiate impeachment cases, the manner of its exercise must be made in accordance with the Constitution. Hence, this Honorable Impeachment Court has the power to determine if the power was exercised under the Constitution,” Corona said in his motion.

He asserted that the complaint was not verified, saying the prosecutors from Congress “have refused to explain how it was physically possible for 188 congressmen to read, understand and evaluate the 188-page complaint and annexes within a short period of time.”

At the same time, Corona admitted that his and his wife’s family history would reveal that they are from “families of no ordinary means” but the recently revealed information that he owned 45 properties is a hoax.

“The recent list from the Land Registration Authority (LRA) enumerating 45 titles, purportedly owned by me and/or my wife is nothing but black propaganda to poison the people’s minds. I condemn this list of titles as a hoax, calculated to cleverly inflict maximum damage to me in the eyes of the public. By its sheer number alone, it smacks of bad faith and deception,” Corona said.

The Chief Justice said he owns only five properties which includes their family residence in Xavierville, two condominium units in Taguig and units at The Columns in Makati and One Burgundy Plaza in Quezon City.