Posted at 02/17/2012 5:02 PM | Updated as of 02/19/2012 6:21 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court has thrown a monkey wrench at the House prosecution panel's efforts to gather evidence in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Prosecutors said the High Court's resolution restricting the testimonies of the justices and court employees as well as access to some court documents pose challenges to prove Corona's guilt in Article 7 of the impeachment complaint.
Spokesman Miro Quimbo said the SC resolution is not a welcome development since they were hoping the Court would abide by Corona's commitment to be cooperative and not restrict access and transparency.
Quimbo said they will seek other remedies to get the documents they need, like appealing to the Senate impeachment court to insist on its subpoena. The prosecution also wants the Court to clarify the coverage on the restriction on documents.
Spokesman Sonny Angara, meanwhile, said the court's documents are public documents.
In a 28-page per curiam en banc Resolution dated February 14, the SC denied the examination and reproduction of confidential court records of cases cited in the Corona impeachment case as subpoenaed by the Senate.
The High Court also maintained that its justices, officials and employees are bound by the rules on confidentiality and barred from disclosing information pertaining to the raffle of cases, actions taken on each case in the agenda of court sessions, and deliberations of justices in court sessions on cases and matters pending before it.
The voting was unanimous with 12 justices present.
Another roadblock
Quimbo said the Court's documents would show how Corona used his position to expedite and provide preferential treatment to alleged patron, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the court issued a restraining order against the watch list order against her.
"It will not weaken the case. The case is stronger but makes proving it more difficult. Dagdag balakid para patunayan pero di mahina ang kaso, kasi as it is, malakas na malakas," he said.
Angara likened this development to the Senate impeachment court's decision to reject the requests to subpoena the Corona family. He said the decision only made the presentation of Article 2 longer.
"Kung pinayagan maging saksi si Chief Justice at pamilya sa Article 2 di tayo tumagal ng 5 linggo pero napatunayan ang argumento sa ibang paraan. Gumamit kami ng official documents," he said.
He declined to reveal how else they intend to prove their case for Article 2.
The prosecutors' spokesman said they will stick to their timeline to end the presentation of evidence in court by the 1st week of March, with the unpresented articles to be presented instead through documentary submissions.
The panel wants to give the defense enough time to make their case and the impeachment court time to decide the case before the Holy Week break.
Angara said the prosecution will decide soon on which article they will stop with the open presentation of evidence, noting that some members of the team feel they can convict Corona on Article 2 alone especially after PSBank revealed 3 other accounts under Corona's name with the bank.
Quimbo thinks the defense panel's initial explanations and rebuttals of the allegations and evidence presented do not really address the issues.
BGEI used as 'scapegoat'
He noted the defense panel is using Basa Guidote Enterprises Incorporated (BGEI), a corporation owned by Mrs. Corona's relatives, as an excuse to explain the cash in Corona's bank accounts.
Quimbo said the defense had already cited money from BGEI to explain the purchase of Corona's properties. He said the same money from BGEI is being used to explain Corona's alleged P36 million in bank deposits last December 12, 2011.
Corona closed 3 accounts last December 12, the same day he was impeached by the House of Representatives.
Quimbo said the defense is already hard-pressed to explain these, noting the dollar accounts of Corona have not even been opened yet.
Angara, for his part, asked why cash from BGEI would be deposited in Corona's account when it's not even a joint account with wife Cristina, whose family owns BGEI.
'Lay off Banal'
Quimbo, meantime, told the defense to lay off Quezon City 3rd District Rep. Jorge "Bolet" Banal after it was revealed that he approached PSBank Katipunan manager Anabelle Tiongson to verify a photocopy of Corona's signature card.
Banal admitted meeting Tiongson but said he only found the photocopy of the document left at his gate last January 30.
Corona's defense team is reportedly considering filing a case against Banal, prosecutor Rey Umali and Chief Prosecutor Niel Tupas Jr. for possible violation of the bank secrecy law for attaching the document to their request for Senate subpoena.
Corona's lawyers are also mulling the filing of an ethics complaint against the congressmen before the House ethics committee.
Quimbo said that despite questions on the bank documents the prosecution attached to secure subpoena's for Corona's other bank records, testimonies by bank executives lately have proven these are authentic because the information in the documents are correct. With a report from Jing Castañeda, ABS-CBN News
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