Philippines top judge’s impeachment trial concludes

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MANILA: The impeachment trial of the Philippines’ top judge was expected to wrap up yesterday, bringing down the curtain on a political drama driven by President Benigno Aquino’s anti-corruption campaign.

Members of the 23-member Senate will rule on the fate of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona after hearing final arguments from prosecutors and the defence.

A verdict will be handed down either late yesterday or today.

Aquino has said that removing the chief justice is a crucial step in his popular but sometimes controversial crusade to clean up the government.

Corona, 63, is accused of protecting graft-tainted former president Gloria Arroyo from prosecution, as well as lacking integrity and amassing a personal fortune above the limits of his salary — which he failed to declare as required by the constitution.

Prosecutors say his actions amounted to ‘culpable violation’ of the constitution and betrayal of public trust.

A guilty verdict on any of the three charges would lead to Corona’s removal from office and could see him go on to face criminal prosecution.

“The impeachment process was carried out in a very open, credible and transparent manner and we think the public will accept whatever the decision of the Senate is,” court spokeswoman Valentina Cruz told AFP.

Cruz said both sides would be given an hour each to lay down their final arguments, after which the senators could either decide to commence voting or postpone it until today.

Sixteen votes, about two-thirds of the chamber, are required to unseat Corona.

The senators, who include only four members of Aquino’s party, have been tight-lipped about how they intend to vote.

Senator Francis Escudero told AFP he hoped that both sides would accept the verdict and spare the country from further political divisions.

“My greatest fear is that, this will not stop,” he told AFP.

“When will our country move forward?”

“I hold the position that any decision of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, is final and non-appealable.”

Corona’s removal was sought by Aquino, who was elected to the presidency in 2010 on a platform to end corruption which he claimed reached pervasive levels during Arroyo’s term. Aquino has accused Arroyo of illegally appointing Corona as chief justice just before she stepped down, allegedly to protect her from prosecution.

Arroyo is now in detention while separately being tried for vote rigging.

Corona was impeached by Aquino’s allies in the House of Representatives in December, which then sent the complaint to the Senate for resolution.

Millions of Filipinos have closely followed the trial, which began in January, and various opinion surveys have indicated that Aquino enjoyed widespread public support for pursuing a judge perceived to be corrupt.

Corona however was backed by his peers in the judiciary amid warnings the president may have violated constitutional provisions in his zeal to remove the chief justice.

Rico Quicho, a spokesman for Corona’s defence panel, said Sunday that the chief justice’s dramatic appearance in court last week had been their best move.

Corona appeared as the final witness in his defence and delivered a three-hour testimony accusing Aquino of a conspiracy to oust him.

He claimed his impeachment was the result of a personal vendetta by Aquino following a landmark Supreme Court ruling to break up Hacienda Luisita, a giant sugar estate owned by the president’s clan. — AFP