Disasters galore, and it’s more fun here?
THE UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction ranked the Philippines No. 1 last year among countries with the most number of major incidents. With the continuing disaster being suffered by the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, I’m afraid we would figure prominently again in the UN agency’s list this year.
Oh, the UN agency is not concerned with legal debacles, you say? Okay, I’ll take back that UN bit, but this will not change the fact that inside the Senate trial court, the prosecution has been reeling from one disaster after another. I believe that with its performance so far, the prosecution panel should be declared in a state of calamity. Well, what do you expect of an ill prepared prosecution team presenting hastily- prepared Articles of Impeachment endorsed by the 188 speed readers of the House?
The lightning- swift approval by the House of the Articles of Impeachment is in stark contrast to the agonizingly slow presentation of the case by the prosecution. Day 1 was almost a waste of time because the prosecution could not present anyone to authenticate the documents it had marked as evidence. The prosecution was even uncertain on how to present its case. At first, it wanted its order of presentation to be Articles 2, 1 and 7. Then, in a sudden change of mind, it wanted the presentation to be Articles 2, 3, 7 and 1. Ano ba talaga, kuya!
The prosecution panel and their supporters had claimed that technicalities raised by former Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas, lead defense counsel, had slowed down their presentation. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding judge, had sustained most of the technical issues raised by Cuevas. Then, when the prosecution tried to turn the tables on Cuevas by raising technical issues while Cuevas was cross- examining prosecution witnesses, Enrile generally sided with Cuevas.
For all its avowals for a swift administration of justice, the prosecution is contradicting itself with its decision to present 100 witnesses. Ugh! That means trials for at least 33 weeks! The prosecutors must have no pity for the viewing public and for the senator-judges who still have some legislative work to do. Worse, they have no pity for themselves. Unless they show a marked improvement of their presentation, they will only be flagellating themselves, prolonging their agony.
I agree with observations that the pace of the trial would have been faster if only the prosecutors were better legally-grounded and if they do not make their supposed direct examination of their witnesses in a roundabout way. Why, even Sen. Lito Lapid a former movie action hero, had to break his silence and express his displeasure because the prosecution took almost 90 minutes discussing the cash advance given by the Basa-guidote Enterprises to Mrs. Cristina Corona!
Senate President Pro- tem Jinggoy Estrada said that “again for the nth time, they entered the court unprepared.” He remarked that the prosecutors seemed to be digging their own grave ( parang ibinabaon nila ang kanilang sarili) by coming to trial unprepared and by not talking to their own witnesses who ended up contradicting the prosecutors’ claims.
“The prosecutors are impeaching their own witness. You cannot do that, unless you declare him as hostile witness,” he explained
Sen. Pia Cayetano had often complained about the turtle pace set by the prosecution. She maintained that with the “best evidence rule,” there should be no more numerous explanations by the prosecutors on any given issue. She described this as a “waste of everybody’s time.”
The prosecution lawyers should know about the “best evidence rule,” so why do they continue to explain to death what is already contained in a document?
“I feel that they are doing this for public consumption,” she said.
Rambling on for public consumption seems to be the case with the “P10-million discount” alleged by the prosecution to have been given by the owners of the Bellagio condominium to CJ Corona for the purchase of a penthouse. In the end, it was shown later by Megaworld executives, the prosecution’s own witnesses, that no discounts were given and that the price reduction would have been given to any buyer. JPE had cautioned prosecution against using the term “discount.”
Sen. Koko Pimentel, a Bar topnotcher, wanted no more of these discussions and gave a brotherly advice (payong kapatid) to the prosecutor to stop raising this “discount” issue whether in Article 2 or Article 3 of the Articles of Impeachment.
Some of the issues raised were whether a corporation is dissolved once the Securities and Exchange Commission revokes its registration for failing to report and the timing of reporting an asset in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth ( SALN).
The condominium unit purchased by CJ Corona from Ayala Land was paid in full in 2004 but Mrs. Corona had refused to occupy it because of some problems. CJ Corona included the unit in his SALN only in 2010. The prosecution said it should have been included in his SALN for 2004.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com