Enrile: They can ask me to inhibit

Thursday, February 23, 2012

THE House prosecution panel can ask Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile to stay away from proceedings if it feels offended at being lectured at, the senate leader said Wednesday.

"They can ask for my exclusion. I’d gladly give it to them. I’ll gladly give it to somebody that will handle it. They do not want to appear before me, they can tell the Senate to withdraw me as presiding officer," he told reporters.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

Enrile scolded members of the prosecution panel Tuesday for what he thinks as an attempt to expand allegations against Chief Justice Renato Corona to include bribery. Members of the panel, including chief prosecutor Representative Niel Tupas Jr., tried to appeal a ruling to exclude testimony from a Philippine Airlines executive on privilege cards given to Corona and his wife.

They said the testimony would show motive behind Corona's alleged flip-flopping on a case involving PAL but Enrile ruled against it, saying later that the prosecution was to blame for not preparing a better impeachment complaint.

"They said (Corona) lacks integrity, independence, probity and competence. If they said he was impartial, that he was receiving favors from somebody, it’s okay, but for them to be bringing in an extraneous predicate to their charge at this stage is unfair," Enrile said.

He had also previously said that the complaint seemed to be faulty and that prosecutors seemed to be fishing for evidence.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago also lashed out Wednesday at kibitzers second-guessing the Senate ruling.

Taking the floor at the start of the 22nd trial day, Santiago said she supports Enrile's ruling. "In fact, I insist on it," she said.

She said that under the Bill of Rights, Corona has a right to due process, which includes the right to be informed "of the nature and cause of the accusations against him." With no mention on bribery on Article III of the impeachment complaint, Santiago said, allowing the prosecution to try to prove that would deprive the impeached Chief Justice of that right.

She said that even if evidence is strong, a respondent cannot be convicted on a ground that has not been alleged. "A substantial defect in the Information, cannot be cured by evidence," she said.

Santiago then lashed out at sawsaweros (meddlers) and "know-it-alls" who feel they know more about the law than lawyers and judges. Santiago is a former trial court judge and has been elected as a judge on the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. "There are so many kibitzers being critical even if their criticism has no basis in law," she said.

Santiago also lashed out at unnamed people who have criticized the court for dwelling on technicalities.

"The law is a body of technicalities. That is why it will take four years, and a year for the bar--a total of nine years--to know the technicalities of the law," she said.

She said that if critics want to act like lawyers, they should enroll in law school first.

At a press briefing after the trial, prosecution spokesmen said they respect the jurisdiction of the Senate impeachment court, although the ruling against testimony from PAL was a blow to their side.

"We give members of the Senate utmost respect. We're the least onion-skinned, our positions are open to humiliation," Marikina Representative Romero Quimbo said. He said, however, that it is not "proper when a member of Congress is treated like a student."

"We were told that we couldn't present (our evidence) and we were even called stupid. But we won't run crying to the Supreme Court," Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara said.

Prosecutors said the defense panel has shown actual disrespect to the Senate by petitioning the Supreme Court to step in and stop the proceedings.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, have been defending both the court and the impeachment process, they said. (Sunnex)