Manila, Philippines- After 43 days of trial, Chief Justice Renato Corona was convicted by at least two thirds of the Senate's vote, 20 votes in actual. Only 3 out of at least 8 votes were casted in favor of Corona's acquittal.
"The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, having tried Renato C. Corona, Chief Justice of the supreme court, upon three articles of impeachment charged against him by the House of Representatives".
Article 3 accused the Chief Justice of losing his neutrality by discussing cases with litigants and for flip-flopping in some final and executory cases, while Article 7 hit Corona for his supposed partiality toward former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when he led the Supreme Court last November to allow his ex-boss seek medical treatment abroad, respectively.
The decision all boiled down to the arguments presented by the defense and prosecution panels on Article 2 . It is about Corona's non-disclosure of his assets and net worth.
In Article 2, Corona was accused of deliberately concealing some properties and cash deposits in the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) since his appointment as magistrate in 2002.
WHAT is SALN?
In an article written by Ariel G. Ronquillo, Director of the Civil Service Commission’s Office for Legal Affairs published in Inquirer.net, he pointed out that the SALN which all public officials and employees in the Philippines are mandated to file annually is the means to achieve the policy of accountability of all public officers and employees in the government. It was originally required by the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act of the Philippines (RA 3019). This was reinforced by Revised Administrative Code of 1987, the 1987 Constitution and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713).
The 20 senators who are in favor of CJ Corona's conviction are Edgardo Angara, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Franklin Drilon, Francis Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Teofisto Guingona III, Gregorio Honasan II, Panfilo Lacson, Manuel Lapid, Loren Legarda, Sergio Osmeña III, Francis Pangilinan, Aquilino Pimentel III, Ralph Recto, Ramon Revilla Jr., Antonio Trillanes IV, Manny Villar, Vicente Sotto III and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
Meanwhile, the three senators that are in favor of Corona's acquittal are Joker Arroyo, Miriam Defensor Santiago, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr..
The grand finale of trial became trending topic online specially on Twitter. Majority of nationwide trending topics are about CJ Corona's conviction. Some of the trending topics are Bye Corona, Article 2, Sen. Marcos, Leon Guerrero, Acquit or Convict, Not Guilty, Text UNLISPEECH to 8888 and Picha Pie. You may search this hashtags on Twitter for the details.
Corona's impeachment is just like Big Brother rules for eviction. Juan Ponce Enrile served as Kuya of the Senate House ordered the historic eviction of the chief justice. After the eviction, Bye Corona hits worldwide trends on Twitter.
So, what do you think is the effect of Corona's conviction now? Does it help the country to move forward? Yes, we did another history but those 43 days were wasted just for the sake of Corona's trial. How about for other issues in the Philippines like poverty and unemployment , can we make history of solving these important issues?
I think, it is really nonsense if the top officials have the same issue, SALN. We should realize something after Mirriam Santiago's speech. I hope the fight for corruption doesn't stop with Corona's conviction. The list is long and many deserve punishment as well.
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| Photo: CJ Corona convicted May 29, 2012 Photo Credit: DWIZ |
"The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, having tried Renato C. Corona, Chief Justice of the supreme court, upon three articles of impeachment charged against him by the House of Representatives".
Article 3 accused the Chief Justice of losing his neutrality by discussing cases with litigants and for flip-flopping in some final and executory cases, while Article 7 hit Corona for his supposed partiality toward former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when he led the Supreme Court last November to allow his ex-boss seek medical treatment abroad, respectively.
The decision all boiled down to the arguments presented by the defense and prosecution panels on Article 2 . It is about Corona's non-disclosure of his assets and net worth.
In Article 2, Corona was accused of deliberately concealing some properties and cash deposits in the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) since his appointment as magistrate in 2002.
WHAT is SALN?
In an article written by Ariel G. Ronquillo, Director of the Civil Service Commission’s Office for Legal Affairs published in Inquirer.net, he pointed out that the SALN which all public officials and employees in the Philippines are mandated to file annually is the means to achieve the policy of accountability of all public officers and employees in the government. It was originally required by the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act of the Philippines (RA 3019). This was reinforced by Revised Administrative Code of 1987, the 1987 Constitution and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713).
The 20 senators who are in favor of CJ Corona's conviction are Edgardo Angara, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Franklin Drilon, Francis Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Teofisto Guingona III, Gregorio Honasan II, Panfilo Lacson, Manuel Lapid, Loren Legarda, Sergio Osmeña III, Francis Pangilinan, Aquilino Pimentel III, Ralph Recto, Ramon Revilla Jr., Antonio Trillanes IV, Manny Villar, Vicente Sotto III and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
Meanwhile, the three senators that are in favor of Corona's acquittal are Joker Arroyo, Miriam Defensor Santiago, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr..
The grand finale of trial became trending topic online specially on Twitter. Majority of nationwide trending topics are about CJ Corona's conviction. Some of the trending topics are Bye Corona, Article 2, Sen. Marcos, Leon Guerrero, Acquit or Convict, Not Guilty, Text UNLISPEECH to 8888 and Picha Pie. You may search this hashtags on Twitter for the details.
Corona's impeachment is just like Big Brother rules for eviction. Juan Ponce Enrile served as Kuya of the Senate House ordered the historic eviction of the chief justice. After the eviction, Bye Corona hits worldwide trends on Twitter.
So, what do you think is the effect of Corona's conviction now? Does it help the country to move forward? Yes, we did another history but those 43 days were wasted just for the sake of Corona's trial. How about for other issues in the Philippines like poverty and unemployment , can we make history of solving these important issues?
I think, it is really nonsense if the top officials have the same issue, SALN. We should realize something after Mirriam Santiago's speech. I hope the fight for corruption doesn't stop with Corona's conviction. The list is long and many deserve punishment as well.
