by pna
By Jelly F. Musico
The historic impeachment trial that resulted in the conviction of former Chief Justice Renato Corona would ‘greatly improve’ confidence in the country’s business as well as political system, Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Edgardo Angara said on Friday.
â€Impeachment done responsibly, I think, helps the confidence of businessmen and should help the economy. Remember, half of the battle in the economy is really perception rather than reality. So I’m hoping that this helps add to the perception that we have a stable economy,†Cayetano, Senate minority leader, said.
For his part, Angara said the business communities and organizations expect the Philippines’ credit rating to be officially upgraded following the successful conduct of the impeachment trial by the Senate under the leadership of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
â€I think it’s quite positive to the extent that they’re saying that our credit rating may even be officially upgraded by rating agencies. Our credibility may have gotten up as a result from what happened in this hall,†Angara said in a recent Senate media forum.
Cayetano believes that, after the impeachment trial, the businessmen will appreciate that the legal system in the country still works well; that transparency and accountability will fight corruption; and, that the impeachment court ended without harming the banking system.
â€The confidence in our business system and political system will greatly improve. Like in Latin America before, coup was being used to replace their president, but when they discovered impeachment, they have stability,†Cayetano said.
Angara said the significant message that the Senate proved to the Filipino people and to the international community was that it is capable of dispensing justice.
â€The significant message was that first, we are capable of dispensing justice to the mighty as well as to the less powerful and that we are willing to wield that gavel evenly, fairly and quickly,†Angara explained.
Angara believes that most of the Filipino people who monitored the nationally-televised impeachment trial for 44 days will appreciate better the function of the Senate as one of the country’s three branches of government.
â€That is the message that I think we delivered to the people and as you can see I think even the stature of the Senate and the leadership are at a record high,†he said.
Most of the senator-judges cited in their explanation of votes that justice should be dispensed fairly as seven of them cited the case of a court interpreter, Delsa Flores, from Davao who was removed from government service 15 years ago for failure to declare her stall in a market in her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth or SALN.
The 20 senator-judges who rendered guilty verdict said Corona committed culpable violation of the Constitution when he never declared his US$ 2.4 million dollar accounts and P80 million in commingled funds with relatives in his SALN.
â€I think that is good to strengthen our institutions because there has been continuous erosion of the credibility of institutions of government, pillars of justice and such in our society that overall we are almost looked at as an outcast and a laggard,†Angara said.
With the conviction of the country’s highest magistrate, Angara said the public has now improved awareness about the importance of SALN, especially for the government officials and employees.
â€I think this a turning point because the media impact of that is that even the Supreme Court justices have opened their SALN to the public and I think that is a good example of the practical effect of this decision. We’ve seen that even lesser officials will be asked of their SALN,†Angara said.
As a result of Corona’s conviction, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who presided the impeachment trial, has been commended by his colleagues and outside the Senate.
Last Wednesday, Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada delivered a privilege speech, commending the 88-year-old Enrile for a job well done despite his age.
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