Palace: Filipinos should watch, learn from Corona trial

Sunday, January 15, 2012

MALACANANG on Sunday encouraged the public to watch the start of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona on Monday.

Besides calling for vigilance, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Filipinos must become aware of the impeachment trial, enabling them to draw better conclusions about the ordeal Corona is facing.

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"We exhort everybody to monitor, to watch, to listen, to learn, and to make your own judgment," she said.

While the senators are tasked to convict or acquit Corona, it will also be beneficial for public to be informed of the issues and the pieces of evidence that will be presented in the trial.

President Benigno Aquino III earlier said that he will closely monitor Corona’s impeachment, which will be aired live on television and radio.

Valte said Aquino has an engagement in Tarlac on Monday morning, but he will be updated by the communications group regarding the trial's developments.

Corona is accused of betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and culpable violation of the Constitution. He was impeached by the House of Representatives last December 12.

Protests to be held by Corona supporters, opponents

Meanwhile, Jojo Guerrero, president of the Supreme Court Employees Association, said that the group will hold another indignation rally to coincide with the start of the trial.

Speaking to reporters over the weekend, Guerrero said the 27,000-strong court employees nationwide will hold simultaneous protest actions in support of Corona on the first day of the impeachment trial in the Senate.

At the SC, Guerrero said some 3,000 employees are expected to join the so-called “Black Monday” program following the flag-raising ceremony.

The employees were advised to wear black to signify their disgust over Corona’s impeachment and various issues affecting the judiciary, such as the cuts in the SC budget.

"The employees are already agitated with the developments. We want to support CJ Corona and the institution," he said.

Guerrero said the indignation rally will begin with a Walk for Democracy, to be attended by court employees from various courts and court stations like the Sandiganbayan, Court of Appeals, and Court of Tax Appeals, and they will converge at the SC grounds along Padre Faura Street.

Aside from court employees, other groups may also attend, such as members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and the academe.

The rally might again involve the suspension of office hours to give way to this activity, Guerrero said, but a judge from Corona’s home province of Batangas was quick to dispel plans of launching a court holiday.

“There is no court holiday on Monday but I will be wearing black and will be at the SC for the mass and other activities to show support to the Chief Justice and for judicial independence,” Judge Marjorie Uyengco-Nolasco of the Batangas Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 83 told Sun.Star.

In a separate statement, the Batangas RTC Judges Association and the Philippine Association of Court Employees (PACE)-Batangas Chapter expressed their support to the embattled Chief Justice, who was born in the city of Tanauan.

“While we respect the process of impeachment as sanctioned by the Constitution, and that, as public servants, we are all accountable to the people, we fervently hope that truth and justice will prevail in the end,” the groups said.

In the meantime, various groups supporting Corona's impeachment will troop to the Senate to demand Corona's immediate conviction.

As early as tomorrow morning, party-list group Akbayan will be holding protests near the Senate grounds, it said in a statement.

"The group will mount "Goodbye Corona" placards and streamers saying the first day of the impeachment trial will mark the beginning of Corona's end as "midnight chief justice,"" its statement said.

In the afternoon, more than 2,000 members of the Bantay Gloria Network (BGN) to be led by Akbayan Spokesperson Risa Hontiveros and Black and White Movement Convenor Leah Navarro will likewise troop to the Senate to give their support to the prosecution panel.

Valte refused to say if the Palace expects a swift and fair impeachment trial noting that the proceedings will only begin Monday.

“We cannot predict on how long this will take, on what courses of action both parties will resort to. Ultimately it will be up to the Senate to decide on how long it will last,” she said.

The Palace official also declined to advise the senators regarding grandstanding, saying that it is beyond the executive turf and they expect the senators "to act as they will see fit."

Meantime, Malacañang welcomed the statement of Corona that he has already forgiven those who have accused him before his trial starts.

“I will no longer wait to be acquitted. This early, I have already forgiven them,” Corona was quoted on the sidelines of the last Novena Mass organized by his supporters at the Supreme Court (SC) last Saturday.

Corona also said that he has no grudge against President Aquino, who publicly chastised him for his apparent partiality toward cases involving former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

“There is nothing personal here, President Aquino was very clear about that,” Valte said. (Jill Beltran/Virgil Lopez/JCV/Sunnex)