Neil Tupas Jr.,leader of the prosecution team delivered the opening statement at the impeachment trail.
As public servants, we took an oath to uphold the people’s will at
all times. All who hold positions in the government of our Republic are
accountable for their actions. For the power of the sovereign Filipino
people is a power that is higher than the Executive, the Legislative or
even the Judiciary. And therefore, no matter how high and mighty one's
position may be, one can never, ever be beyond public accountability.
Today, we lay down before this impeachment tribunal the product of the
collective voice of the people. Impeachment of Supreme Court Chief
Justice Renato Corona for betrayal of public trust, culpable violation
of the Constitution, and for graft and corruption is the verdict in the
House of Representatives. By issuing such verdict, we took the first
step to accomplish our oath as the keepers of the people’s trust.
Let me be clear: We are not here to indict the Supreme Court as an
institution, or to do battle with the judicial branch of government. We
are here to search for the truth so as to restore the strength and
independence of the judiciary. We are here because one man – Chief
Justice Renato Corona — has bartered away for a pot of porridge the
effectiveness, the independence, and the honor of the Supreme Court.
Mr. Senate President, your honors, one very important question before
this honorable impeachment tribunal is, by what standards should Renato
Corona be judged?
You only have to look at the
Supreme Court itself to know the answer. As you climb its steps, you
will see two statues. One of these statues is of Cayetano Arellano, the
first Chief Justice, a man of absolute integrity, and of the deepest
legal wisdom. The other is of Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, who viewed
his oath so sacred, and loved his country so deeply, he preferred to
die at the hands of the Japanese rather than betray his country.
The Supreme Court itself, then, views the position of Chief Justice as
beyond politics, beyond personal considerations, and always about
putting honor and justice ahead of every other consideration. Pagkatao
po ang ating pinag-uusapan dito. The Code of Judicial Conduct demands
that a judge must be like Caesar’s wife – someone who must not only be
pure but must be beyond suspicion at all times. Therefore, a Justice
must be judged according to the highest standards. Against such
standards, we then ask: Who is Chief Justice Corona? What kind of a
man is he? Ano po ba ang pagkatao ni Renato Corona?
Chief Justice Renato Corona was a loyal servant to former President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from the time she became Vice-President in 1998
until she became President in 2001. Such loyalty had numerous rewards
for the Chief Justice. Imagine, GMA paid for his back surgery. His
wife was given plum positions in the John Hay Management Corporation. He
was appointed Associate Justice, and the best reward of all, against
all odds, he took a midnight oath as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Corona’s appointment as Chief Justice also served an immoral purpose:
that of shielding GMA from prosecution for her misdeeds during her
presidency. The prosecution will show how Chief Justice Corona became
the crowning glory of the cast of accomplices of former President
Arroyo, and how he protected GMA’s interest in exchange for his position
of prestige and power. This is at the heart of Article 1 of the
Impeachment Complaint.
This unholy alliance
between Chief Justice Corona and GMA, and Corona’s deep indebtedness to
the former President culminated in the issuance of a temporary
restraining order (TRO) to enable GMA and her husband to leave the
country, and escape accountability. This is Article 7, Corona’s biggest
favor yet to his benefactor. And in Article 4, we will show how the
Chief Justice intervened in the impeachment case against former
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez also to protect GMA.
In Articles 3 and 5, we will show the lack of moral fitness of Chief
Justice Renato Corona when he committed acts of impropriety involving
parties with pending cases in the Supreme Court. His mockery of the
disciplinary institutions of the Supreme Court in the plagiarism charge
against a Supreme Court Associate Justice will be proven in Article 6.
And in Article 8, we will show how he failed to account for the
Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) and the Special Allowance for the
Judiciary (SAJ), funds which are managed by the Chief Justice. Malinaw
po: Kung gusto natin ng hustisya, hindi na dapat ipagkatiwala kay Chief
Justice Corona ang pinakamataas na pwesto sa hudikatura.
And finally, we come to Article 2 where the prosecution will prove that
Chief Justice Renato Corona amassed ill-gotten wealth after he was
appointed to the Supreme Court in 2002. To give you an idea of this
article, let me present to you some of the prized pieces of the Corona
crown jewels:
Spanish Bay Tower, Bonifacio Ridge, acquired October 14, 2005, purchase price Php9,159,940;
McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, acquired October 21, 2008, purchase price Php6,196,575;
Bellagio I Tower, Taguig, acquired December 2009, purchase price of Php14,510,225;
The Columns, Ayala Avenue, Makati City, acquired in 2004;
One Burgundy Plaza – the building where Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
had a penthouse unit while she was Vice-President - acquired in 2003,
purchase price Php2,758,000; and
Number 57 Maranao Street, La Vista, acquired in 2003, zonal valuation Php20.4 million, sold to his daughter for Php18 million.
The governing principle of our laws is clear: unexplained discrepancy
between an official’s income and his assets, declared or undeclared, is
prima facie evidence of ill-gotten wealth, and therefore, is an
impeachable crime of graft and corruption.
The
process of accountability is always a painful one. But the legislature
is tasked by no less than the Constitution, the very expression of the
people’s will, to undertake this sacred duty. And if at this instance,
this is how we are called upon to be of service to our country, impeach
we must. Mr. Senate President, your honors, we submit that Renato
Corona, by his misdeeds, is unfit to remain Chief Justice.
In closing, the message of the House, as the representatives of the
people, is the same as that given by Oliver Cromwell when he dismissed
England's Long Parliament on April 20 of 1653. Before God and country,
we say: “It is high time for us to put an end to your sitting in that
place, which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and
defiled by your practice of every vice, you are an enemy to good
government, as you have sold your country for a mess of pottage, and
like Judas Escariot betrayed your God for a few pieces of gold. Depart I
say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”
Thank you and good afternoon.
SOURCE: GMA network.
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