MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) - With 19 votes already in, the Senate has found Chief Justice Renato Corona guilty of betrayal of public trust for failing to disclose his true wealth in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) as required under the Constitution.
As of posting, only 3 had voted to acquit, and the decision of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will no longer affect the outcome.
Those who found the chief justice guilty were:
1) Edgardo Angara
2) Alan Peter Cayetano
3) Pia Cayetano
4) Franklin Drilon
5) Francis Escudero
6) Jinggoy Estrada
7) Teofisto Guingona III
8) Gregorio Honasan
9) Panfilo Lacson
10) Lito Lapid
11) Loren Legarda
12) Sergio Osmeña III
13) Francis Pangilinan
14) Aquilino 'Koko' Pimentel III
15) Ralph Recto
16) Ramon Revilla Jr.
17) Vicente Sotto III
18) Antonio Trillanes IV
19) Manuel villar
Those who have so far found Corona innocent are:
1) Joker Arroyo
2) Miriam Defensor-Santiago
3) Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Corona thus becomes the first high-ranking official in Philippine history to be removed from office via the method prescribed by the Constitution.
Then-President Joseph Estrada's impeachment trial in 2001 was cut short by a military-backed civilian uprising which ousted him from office, instead of via the impeachment process.
Stronger democracy or dictatorship?
The 5-month long impeachment process is seen by analysts as an exercise that will strengthen the country's democratic institutions.
Various surveys have shown that the Filipino public will accept the verdict of the Senate, regardless of whether Corona is found guilty or not.
The historic vote on Tuesday was also expected to strengthen the Aquino presidency, as well as its campaign against corruption and efforts to promote transparency and accountability.
Corona, however, has said that President Aquino's bid to remove him from office is an attack on an independent branch of government, and that if he is removed from office, it would lead to a dictatorship.
98% of cash assets undeclared
In its closing arguments Monday, House prosecutors said Corona failed to disclose 98% of his cash assets in his SALNs. Corona's defense lawyers argued that the law on foreign currency deposits provides for absolute confidentiality, and that failure to disclose is not one of the impeachable offenses provided under the Constitution.
The vote focused on Article 2 of the impeachment complaint filed by 188 congressmen last December 12, which alleges that Corona failed to disclose his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth as required under Sec. 17, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution.
The senator-judges no longer voted on the 2 other articles of impeachment (Articles 3 and 7), which accuse Corona of failing to meet the competence, integrity, probity and independence of a government official, and favoring former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in one of his decisions.
During the 44 trial days spread out in 5 months, the chief justice's real property acquisitions and dollar deposits became the subject of heated debate and discussions.
Family feud
The family feud between the Coronas and the Basas over Basa-Guidote Enterprises Inc. (BGEI) also hurt his stature during the trial, although the two families began to reconcile last Friday by hugging and kissing at the Senate session hall during a caucus break.
In the beginning, many thought the prosecution would likely lose, with many senator-judges criticizing them for their unpreparedness and poor presentation of evidence.
They were assailed for presenting a bloated list of Corona’s real properties, and for wrongly fishing for evidence during the trial.
The defense, on the other hand, earned the ire of many senators when they claimed that Malacañang tried to bribe a couple of them in order to vote for the opening of Corona’s dollar accounts. The Senate voted 13-10 to respect a Supreme Court TRO on Corona's dollar accounts.
Corona's dollar accounts
In the last days of the trial, the focus was on the dollar accounts of Corona. The defense presented a hostile witness, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, who presented an Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report which purportedly shows Corona had at least $10 million-$12 million in transactional balances in 82 foreign-denominated accounts.
The allegation prompted Corona to agree to take the witness stand, a move which many thought was a big mistake.
Corona debunked Carpio-Morales’ accusations, saying he has only $2.4 million, including interest earnings since the early 1970s, plus P80 million in commingled funds.
He said there was no need to declare his dollar deposits in his SALNs because of the absolute confidentiality provided by the Foreign Currency Deposit Act.
He then signed a waiver authorizing banks to disclose his financial assets, but the Senate merely took note of it since it was not a producer of evidence for either party.
Corona's move last May 22 to leave the witness stand without being excused and attempt to leave the Senate also proved costly since many senators saw it as an attempted walkout and disrespect of the impeachment court.source: abs-cbnnews.com
