The Corona Impeachment Trial: Trial not limited to acquittal, conviction

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Chief Justice Renato Corona may not necessarily be removed from office even if the Senate impeachment court convicts him, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago reminded the public yesterday.

Santiago said Article XI, Section 3 of the Constitution states that “judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines.”

“That means we go less than removal from office. So you can mete out the punishment of reprimand or censure. We don’t necessarily have to either acquit or convict,” Santiago said.

Santiago reported for work yesterday after a one-week leave of absence due to hypertension.

She said she monitored the impeachment trial on television and found it to be slow and riddled with technicalities.

“I suffered from terminal boredom, both from watching television on the impeachment and for staying at home as prescribed by the doctor,” Santiago said.

“I strongly suggest that people who have no strong interest in governance or in political science should not watch the impeachment,” she said.

She said television cameras also contributed to the delays, since the lawyers and senators saw the need to strut their stuff before a live audience.

“Everybody tended to go overboard. They thought that they had to take a dramatic stance in front of the TV cameras. If you shut down all the TV cameras, this proceeding will be finished in one week,” Santiago said.

Santiago said the technicalities raised during the first four days of the trial were unnecessary.

She expressed disappointment that the Senate rejected the pre-trial conference sought by the defense panel, saying the proceeding could have been more orderly and expeditious.

A former trial court judge, Santiago noted that pre-trial is mandatory in civil and criminal cases.

“I was hoping that motion for pre-trial hearing would be granted. It would have short-circuited the entire process,” Santiago said.

“There should be an outline of questions, to proceed sequentially and logically. I intend to shortcut these technicalities when they are cited,” she said.

“We are not confining this process to those with technical, legal knowledge, otherwise we’ll have no public participation. We might as well hold it in a darkened room among us. We want the public to understand what’s going on,” she added.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC:
This post is not intended to violate copyright infringement law, this post originated from http://www.philstar.com