Are the forces of government going after Corona?

When the good guys become the bad guys

There is something becoming glaringly clear about the way the government prosecutors and the Aquino administration are handling the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In two weeks of hearings, various evidences have been presented. In some cases, while the documents submitted have yet to be admitted in court as evidence, the gory details of such documents have already been publicly known through the media.

This means that even if the evidence is inadmissible or the senator judges vote in favor of Corona, the public already has intimate knowledge of the Chief Justice’s and his family’s financial situation and ongoings. This is obviously something that no person in his right mind would want the public to know.

The Corona family is on trial

On the seventh day of the impeachment proceedings, the income tax returns of the children of Corona were presented though not yet admitted as evidence for the trial. They have raised several concerns as to why Corona’s children are being dragged into the fray, when they are private citizens and don’t hold any public office. At the same time, it is their father who is on trial and not the children.

The under declared income of the two daughters don’t necessarily prove conclusively that their father is corrupt, although it does raise many questions. At one point, it was even argued that perhaps it was the father-in-law that provided the funds for the daughter to be able to purchase such an expensive piece of property. After all, just because it’s not on the Income Tax Return (ITR), it doesn’t mean that the person didn’t earn anything else. There are monetary gifts, bank deposits as well as income from stock trades. Does this mean that the entire clan will undergo a tax audit and have tax evasion cases filed against them?

Because of the irregular tax filings of the two Corona children, it came up during questioning of witness BIRC Chief Kim Henares by Senator Ralph Recto whether or not they would file tax evasion cases against the Corona children. When the witness responded probably, it raised the concern of Senator Joker Arroyo. Senator Arroyo said that he didn’t want the public to feel that the forces of government were being used to go after Corona. However, given the revelations of the last few days, what else is the public supposed to think?

It’s a trial by publicity

The impeachment proceedings are getting more dirty and undignified because even before something is presented in the court, it has already managed to land the front pages of the dailies.

Press conferences are given left and right by the prosecution team. It has reached a point that Senator Gringo Honasan has declared that the “trial outside the courtroom is now faster than trial inside” the halls of the senate.

Documents that have not yet been admitted as evidence have already been leaked to the media. The masa have just heard all the inflammatory remarks and the incredible figures and have already made up their minds even if we are still in the early days of the proceedings. This is why the defense team is so cautious about answering questions during press conferences.

PNoy gave the go ahead to release the ITR of Corona

Not only have the Statements of Assets and Liabilities of Corona been released; now his personal income tax return has been brandished about in the media for all the world to see. The ITR of a person is not for public consumption, even if the chief justice is a public servant or a public figure. However, it can now be seen online and it has been leaked to the media.

It’s no secret that President Aquino wants Corona out of the Supreme Court and wants to put his own man in place. Obviously, the executive department wants a little more influence over the judiciary branch of government. This of course would speed up the proceedings to weed out what the Aquino government deems as kurakot.

The only way to boot Corona out is to force him through an impeachment proceeding, or shame the man so much he would be compelled to resign to avoid any more scandal.

The lower house rushed the filing of the impeachment

“Haste makes waste.” This has been the reading of many media people as to the way the impeachment complaint was filed by the lower house. In a matter of weeks, the lower house was able to get 188 signatures to get Corona tried for impeachment.

However, in their rush to get the man out the door, it seems like they could have been able to draft a better-written impeachment complaint. For one thing, each article of impeachment should only refer to one specific instance. Senator Chiz Escudero even said that this was the reason why in the US, when an impeachment complaint is filed, it can often reach over 30 articles of impeachment, each one addressing a specific instance of an impeachable offense.

In the recent evidence presented by the prosecution, they have lumped together various instances or examples of Corona’s alleged offenses under article 2 of the impeachment complaint. The Senate President and the other senators themselves had to chastise the prosecution as to the way the impeachment complaint was written.

The massive volumes of documents presented should have been marked previously rather than having to go through the arduous task of marking each one during the trial.

Obviously, no one wants to waste his time and all the senators want to keep things going. Senator Miriam Santiago herself yelled at private prosecutor Arthur Lim about not wasting her time.

The lower house has impeached Corona. The Senate is now handling the trial. The BIR is filing tax evasion cases. The prosecution is holding a media trial aside from the one in the court.

Is this a good thing?

On one end, it can be said that the Aquino administration is certainly keeping its promise of cleaning house and punishing the guilty. It’s sending a strong message that those who have something to fear better start quaking in their boots. It’s also sending the message that a new day has come and justice is about to be served to those who deserve it.

The BIR is also now an entity to be feared, much like the IRS. The last thing anyone wants is an audit, much less a tax evasion case. It’s embarrassing, a big hassle and a criminal offense if convicted.

However, there’s a fine line between being on a quest for truth and justice, and becoming a tyrant. The administration should be careful about how they are handling a perceived enemy of the state. They should stick to the rule of law and respect the constitutional rights of even the people they are going after. Until they have their day in court, these people are innocent until proven guilty.

You can let ‘em have it once the verdict is out.

Until then, ease up, or the people may start to wonder who exactly the bad guys are.

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