Of price reductions. Clinton’s impeachment revisited
IN Clinton’s impeachment, only Chief Justice ( CJ) Rehnquist could read the written questions to the House Managers (that was how the prosecutors were called) and counsel. No lawyer could grandstand. The House had relied on the report of Kenneth Starr, who had probed Clinton for years at a cost of $70M. Clinton’s approval rating was 70 percent (CJ Rene is -14). Here, only the CJ wore a toga, Jun Davide in 2001. Maybe it should only be Manong Johnny. The Senators look, . . . never mind. In Clinton’s, no one wore a toga, and testimony had been videotaped (here, oral Q and A).
LAST week marked the birth and death anniversaries of Cory Aquino and Doy Laurel, the heroic duo that beat the MarcosTolentino ticket in 1986. Last Saturday I was in another anniversary, wedding, of a cuz. Kim Henares was there. I commended her as a truthful forthright witness relying on the basis of official records with no personal agenda, from whom admired abogado de campana Justice Cuevas could not extract anything, other than that she had been told by Pnoy to tell the truth; the maxim is at times the best cross, is no cross. And you don’t ask a question the answer to which you don’t already know. But TV encourages captious risky time- wasting comments, and very rare risk- free captivating ones. We could have aped the Clinton model.
THE prosecution should look at JBC’S record on the nomination of Rene Corona as Justice years ago. His own kin went against him. Rare. Francis Pangilinan and Allan Peter Cayetano, then with the JBC, may have recollections of the omnipresent issue of moral fitness. During the dark years, we never heard of Rene in human rights, litigation, business or Edsa ’86. He was in Malacañang, helping kleptocrat and gross human rights violator Macoy. In the 60’s the Coronas lived in an unpretentious pad on Herran, where I once was. Nothing opulent. The visible wealth was in a good name.
I have no idea where Rene was during the Cory years; he emerged during FVR’S watch. Where was he was during the Erap years? That was when we had our first and only meeting - about the Expo probe. From lawyering for FVR, he moved to GMA.
From the time I was a messenger while in law school— save when I was in government, and sidelined since 2007 following our devastating family tragedy— I was often in court. I never saw Rene, while we learned from Doy Q, Che de S, Crispin B, Dakila C, et al. Litigators knew one another then. (In 1964-67, I was in court every afternoon, with Art Panganiban and Tony Abad in a poll case before tough Judge Arsenio Solidum, and we had Don Crispin as Bossing.) Office lawyer then? When and where did Rene have a lucrative activity?
Is there a bio of Rene, so we may judge how lucky or unlucky we are? I want to know how often he went abroad, before and after he became CJ. The Bureau of Immigration has data on these and should be matched with Manny P’s bouts. CJ Makasiar never travelled abroad. Modern Justices often do; we are never told how these trips benefit our people in relation to their sole task - to decide cases. Rulings were read and understood, sans a spokesman, in our youth when justices did not socialize and were not seen or heard, only read.
THE Integrated Bar of the Philippines ( IBP) should cease its non-stop pro-rene commentary. As a living Distinguished Service Awardee of the IBP, I wish no longer to be with it, with its bias for one seen by many as ethically unfit to be and remain SC Chief; he violates the canon on not accepting a favor from anyone, such as pro bono legal donors. He is not poor and powerless, who deserves it. He arguably trafficks in public office. Let’s look not only at JBC records but Bureau of Immigration (BI) ones - how many times has he travelled since be became CJ? What for? What benefit did we get from his absence in the office where is supposed to helped decide countless pending matters? And he improperly talked with Ka Lauro Vizconde, to screw Hubert, to get back at J. Tony Carpio, at the expense of one freed by the majority anyway. Sad, but that is why I do not confuse Rene with the SC itself as an institution, which correctly acquitted Hubert and shafted the Truth Commish as representing Victor’s Justice.
IN 1986, we assaulted the institution by removing the SC Justices, including J. Cuevas, reappointing but a few. Now Manong Johnny is quoted to have said in Cebu that 188 (plus 13 add-ons) Congressmen have attacked the judiciary. Incredulous, aren’t I? I don’t agree that it is under attack, only Rene is. Manong, please “say it ain’t so.”
Rene got, not only an arguably discounted doctorate, but also a discounted condo, from Megaworld. Rule 5.04 of the Code of Judicial Conduct says: “A judge or any immediate member of the family [ such as a daughter] shall not accept a gift [or] favor . . . from anyone except . . .” I do not see “save when in the case of a wealthy powerful Chief Justice.” In The Bellagio, the Coronas got substantial price reductions arguably by reason of his office; he would decide cases for the next six years. He also accepts the pro bono favor of lawyers. Amor con amor se paga, as the volunteers know, only too well. They should help the obscure, poor and powerless, unadvertised. They and Mega should examine their own records of concessions to others. It is a stretch for Mega to say it did not know it was Rene who was buying and that it would not have mattered anyway, insulting our little intelligence.
ALL senators should hold their peace until judgment time when all the evidence is in; no play- by- play or color commentary at this time. I wish they would shut their traps while witnesses ponder that some of the cruelest lies are told in silence. But, truthful witnesses can devastate, going by the fixed star of the Truth, in the People’s Court, which is always open for business.
I hope it can still entertain Sen. Miriam’s idea of censure, if I understood her correctly. “Soft” impeachment remains a viable objective, if conviction and removal may not have the votes. But with what is going viral on the Coronas’ alleged bank accounts in PSB and BPI, the hope is they will all say “here they are, what else can we do for you?” Else, the People’s Court, for that is what this national inquest is all about, may roughly conclude in effect that the first denial is the first confirmation.
Fairly or unfairly, Rene can no longer lead the judiciary by making a fortress of technicalities.
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