MikeLigalig.com

by PNA

Senate President and impeachment presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile vowed on Wednesday to grant Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona with utmost deference when the chief magistrate finally appear to testify in his own impeachment trial in the Senate.

”We are not going to (be) abrasive or disrespectful. We’ll grant him all courtesies as the chief justice of the Supreme Court. There is none who will insult him or be rude to him. We will treat him with utmost deference,” Enrile said in a media interview after Wednesday morning plenary session.

The Senate President believed that the defense panel will be true to its promise to present the chief justice to the impeachment court to answer all the allegations including the complaints filed before the Office of the Ombudsman that Corona has US$ 10 million in various bank accounts.

”He (Corona) is willing to bear all out. That’s what they (defense) said. I heard it. It’s up (to) the chief justice to defend himself. I will not teach them how to defend their client but they cannot control the decision of the court,” Enrile said.

Last Tuesday, defense lawyer Jose Roy III revealed that Corona has promised to testify but only if Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and the complainants on the alleged US$ 10 million bank deposits of the chief justice would be subpoenaed by the Senate, sitting as impeachment court.

In response, Enrile has immediately granted the defense’ request to summon Morales and 10 others including partylist congressman Walden Bello and former partylist congresswoman Risa Hontiveros.

”When a question is profounded to them it’s up to them to answer or not. If they don’t answer, there is an implication of not answering. If they answer, there is also an implication if they answer,” he said.

As promised to Enrile, the defense formally submitted its motion for subpoena commanding Morales, Bello, Hontiveros, Harvey Keh, Ruperto Alerosa, Gibby Gorres, Albert Conception, Ernest Francis Calayag, Moses Mijkhael Albiento, Tristan Daina Brioso Zinampan and Emmanuel Tiu Santos to appear and testify before the impeachment court next week.

The complainants have been instructed to bring with them the original and certified true copies of documents of their complaints against Corona before the Office of the Ombudsman, as well as documents on which they base their accusations that the chief magistrate has foreign bank accounts with an aggregate value of US$ 10 million.

Enrile also granted the request of the defense for a 48-hour suspension of the trial to give them enough time to prepare for Corona’s appearance.

As such, the Senate President suspended the trial until Monday next week.

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