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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
(UPDATE, 3:30 p.m.) The House prosecution panel on Wednesday concluded its presentation of evidence on Article 3 after it dropped two accusations in the same article of the verified complaint lodged against Chief Justice Renato Corona.
The prosecution said it would focus its evidence only on the case between Philippine Airlines and the Flight Attendants' and Stewards' Association of the Philippines (Fasap) against Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao told the court the prosecution will be dropping allegations particularly "in creating an excessive entanglement with Mrs. Arroyo through her appointment of his wife to office; in discussing with litigants regarding cases pending before the Supreme Court" and the use of public funds for personal use.
This means that the prosecution's witness for Article 3 is only Fasap president Bob Anduiza. On Tuesday, the impeachment court barred the prosecution from presenting as witness the Vice President for Sales of Philippine Airlines, Enrique Javier.
"In so far as the prosecution is concerned, we have concluded presentation of evidence with respect to Fasap case covered by Paragraph 3.1 to 3.3 of the Articles of Impeachment," Aggabao told the court.
To which presiding officer Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile replied: "You have totally waived other...you remove everything else? You will not present anymore evidence on this portion of Article 3 and will not be presented for the consideration of the impeachment body? That is very clear."
Sen. Miriam's support
At the start of the hearing, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago rallied behind Enrile's decision concerning the VP of PAL. She also hit at "kibitzers" who criticized the ruling of the court.
"Marami kasing mga kibitzers…eh kung gusto mo mag abogado mag enroll kayo. Magbasa kayo tungkol sa batas. Batikos ng batikos nang walang base sa batas natin. Gusto bang gawin sa kanila ang gusto nilang gawin sa iba? Akala nila nakikipag fishballan tayo dito (There are so many kibitzers...if you want to be lawyers, enroll. Read on the law. You're always criticizing without any basis on the law. Do they want to experience what they're trying to do to others? They think we're just chatting by a fishball cart here)," Santiago said.
On Tuesday, Enrile disallowed Javier's testimony on the perks the Chief Justice and his wife, Cristina, allegedly received from the flag carrier.
Article 3 charges Corona with failing to "meet and observe the stringent standards under the Constitution that provided that a member of the judiciary must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence."
It contains three allegations: the reversal of a Supreme Court decision on a labor case filed by Philippine Airlines flight attendants after Estelito Mendoza, the airline’s lawyer, wrote the high court; Corona’s "excessive entanglement" with former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who appointed his wife Cristina to the John Hay Development Corp.; and his alleged discussion of the Vizconde massacre case with Lauro Vizconde.
What transpired on Tuesday
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. also said the prosecution panel “feels very bad” about Enrile’s ruling at Tuesday’s hearing.
A visibly irked Enrile rejected the testimony of Enrique Javier, PAL vice president for sales, saying the airline executive was not competent to prove Corona betrayed the public trust because of the privileges allowed him by a PAL platinum card.
Enrile also lambasted the prosecution for attempting to raise allegations against Corona that were not originally included in Article 3.
Javier was actually the second witness sent home by Enrile Tuesday. The first was Mara Arcilla, assistant manager of the Bank of the Philippine Islands Ayala branch, who had been called to testify on Article on Impeachment No. 2, which deals with Corona’s failure to disclose his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth.
Meanwhile, the prosecution submitted a formal manifestation Wednesday asking that the oral tender of excluded evidence made by private prosecutor Marlon Manuel on Tuesday be included in the records of the Senate impeachment court, including the following information:
- Chief Justice Renato Corona is a holder of PAL Platinum Card No. A752, issued on December 2010 and with expiry date of December 2011.
- Cristina Corona is a holder of PAL Platinum Card No. A753, issued on December 2010 and with expiry date of December 2011.
- Four trips of the Chief Justice using the Platinum Card:
1. Mla-Guam-Mla - April 2011
2. Mla-Singapore-Mla - April 2011
3. Mla-Honolulu-Mla - December 2010
4. Mla-HK-Mla - December 2010
- Twelve trips of Cristina Corona using the Platinum Card:
1. Mla-CGK-Mla - July 2011
2. Mla-Guam-Mla - April 2011
3. Mla-Singrapore-Mla - April 2011
4. Mla-Bkk-Mla - March 2011
5. Mla-Honolulu-Mla - December 2010
6. Mla-HK-Mla - December 2010
7. Mla-Bacolod-Mla - July 2011
8. Mla-GeS-Mla - June 2011
9. Mla-Cebu-Mla - March 2011
10.Mla-Tag-Mla - March 2011
11.Mla-GeS-Mla - March 2011
12.Mla-Cebu-Mla - February 2011
In an annex earlier attached to a request for subpoena, the prosecution said that Platinum Card holders enjoy unlimited courtesy travel on PAL and PAL Express flights with the highest class of service; waived taxes, fees, fuel and insurance surcharge; free baggage allowance; and, access to all PAL Mabuhay lounges worldwide.
