Prosecution wants to invite Sereno

The House panel prosecuting Chief Justice Renato Corona wants the Senate impeachment court to invite Supreme Court ( SC) Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to testify in Corona’s trial.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, a panel member, said they would file with the impeachment tribunal on Monday a formal request for the issuance of an invitation to Sereno.

He said while the Senate has rejected the prosecution’s petition for a subpoena to certain SC members, there is no harm in inviting Sereno

to shed more light on her dissenting opinion in the issuance of the controversial Nov. 15 temporary restraining order (TRO) allowing former President Gloria Macapagal-arroyo and her husband to leave the country.

He said the associate justice would be asked specifically about certain irregularities in the issuance of the TRO involving Corona. The TRO issue is in Article 7 of the eight Articles of Impeachment.

Colmenares said the prosecution would file its request in time for the Monday caucus of senator-judges.

On the agenda of the caucus is the request of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV for the impeachment court to send Sereno a questionnaire on her dissent if she does not volunteer to testify in the trial.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told senator-judges on Wednesday and Thursday that Corona, through SC administrator-spokesman Midas Marquez and in a handwritten note sent to the SC clerk-of-court, made it appear that the Nov. 15 TRO was immediately effective despite noncompliance by the Arroyos with three conditions the court prescribed.

De Lima said it was clear that the Chief Justice, an appointee of Arroyo, wanted the former president and her husband to leave the country shortly after the TRO was issued.

Prosecution spokesman Rep. Miro Quimbo of Marikina said based on De Lima’s testimony, Corona “used his clout as Chief Justice to help his former Malacañang boss, Mrs. Arroyo, and her husband to flee the country and escape prosecution.”

“Mrs. Arroyo wanted to leave fast. In order to make this possible, Chief Justice Corona – one of her most loyal allies – rushed the TRO,” he said.

“The former president almost got away because of the TRO. The TRO was intended to let her escape. If not for Secretary De Lima’s firmness to prevent Mrs. Arroyo from leaving the country, there is no way we can make GMA accountable for crimes she committed against the Filipino people,” he said.

De Lima herself said Sereno’s dissenting opinion on the issuance of the TRO should bolster the accusation against Corona.

Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada said the prosecution is alarmed by Sereno’s revelations in her dissenting opinion, “particularly on Corona’s attempt to distort the SC decision on the effectivity of the TRO.”

“This goes to show that the Chief Justice will do everything to satisfy Mrs. Arroyo’s interest. It bolsters our allegation that the former president placed Corona in the Supreme Court to defend and protect her and it is to her benefit if he is not convicted and remains as chief magistrate,” he said.

He said Sereno’s dissent “is very important because we were able to take a peek at the workings of the Supreme Court.”

Aurora Rep. Juan Angara said the Senate impeachment tribunal, in assessing the prosecution’s charge that Corona is partial to Arroyo, “should take judicial notice of his subordinate relationship to the former president.”

“The impeachment court can take note of the fact that Chief Justice Corona was the former chief of staff of Mrs. Arroyo when she was in the Senate and Office of the Vice President. When she became president, Mrs. Arroyo again made him her chief of staff and spokesperson until his appointment to the Supreme Court as associate justice in 2002,” he said.

“The impeachment court can also take cognizance of the fact that the Chief Justice was a midnight appoin- tee of Mrs. Arroyo, which we all know created a lot of controversy,” he said.

He pointed out that Arroyo appointed Corona’s wife Cristina to a juicy post in the state-owned Camp John Hay Development Corp.

At the same time, prosecutors welcomed the statement of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who presides over Corona’s trial, that the impeachment court’s proceedings are not criminal in nature.

“We really look at this as a major victory for us. We have been pointing out from Day One that the trial is not a criminal proceeding,” Quimbo said.

Deputy lead prosecutor Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas of Ilocos Norte said because of Enrile’s pronouncement, “the quantum of evidence needed to convict CJ Corona is not proof beyond reasonable doubt.”

He said the impeachment court can convict the Chief Justice if there is reasonable ground to believe he is guilty of just one of the impeachment charges filed against him, like his nondisclosure of his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, and his failure to declare some of his wealth.

“Let’s wait and see first what the action of the impeachment court will be,” SC spokesman Marquez told reporters when asked to comment on moves to invite Sereno to the impeachment trial.

Monday caucus

Enrile, meanwhile, admitted he has reservations about Trillanes’ proposal.

“I don’t know if members of the court are allowed to order written interrogatory motu propio because as far as I know, written interrogatory is a remedy for either the defense or prosecution,” Enrile said.

“Senator Trillanes is not a lawyer and he made a motion. I don’t understand the request of Senator Trillanes so I will study this first,” Enrile said.

He said Sereno can always decline responding to questions anyway so in the end it would all still be up to her to give her side on the matter.