Philippines fires chief justice over corruption
SENATORS fired the Philippines’ Supreme Court chief justice yesterday for failing to declare $2,4m in bank accounts in a politically coloured trial that has reinvigorated President Benigno Aquino’s campaign to clean up the government.
Chief Justice Renato Corona was appointed by Mr Aquino’s predecessor, Gloria Arroyo, who is under hospital arrest in a vote-rigging case.
Judge Corona said the effort to oust him was a threat to democracy and his omission was not an impeachable offence because a 1974 bank privacy law protects foreign deposits from disclosure.
Judge Corona is considered fired and barred from public office after senators voted 19 to three to convict him of betraying public trust and violating the constitution. Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile had still to vote yesterday.
Judge Corona testified last week that it was not only he who was on trial and challenged all 188 legislators who impeached him to disclose their dollar accounts, but there were few takers.
The ruling could give Mr Aquino more influence to push reforms through Congress, such as a proposed sin tax on alcohol and tobacco that would raise about $1,4bn more this year for the government. That would go some way to address chronically low revenue collection and support his plans to improve decrepit infrastructure that remains a major barrier to growth.
“The effect is clear. It will be a boost to the anticorruption campaign of the president, it will also be a big boost to his support base,” said Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms in Manila.
Moody’s ratings agency yesterday lifted the rating on its sovereign debt to “positive” from “stable”.
Prosecutors, most of whom are Mr Aquino’s allies from the lower House of Representatives, argued that Judge Corona concealed his wealth and offered “lame excuses” to avoid public accountability.
Judge Corona said he had accumulated his wealth from foreign exchange transactions when he was a student.
The powerful are rarely prosecuted in the Philippines and a third of the population of 94-million lives on $1 a day.
Prosecutors Rodolfo Farinas said Judge Corona had declared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth less than 2% of what he actually owned. Sapa-AP