justice corona position paper

7/28/2019 Justice Corona Position Paper

1/4

Tapalla, Gian Carlo C.

L- 110522

The basic idea of government of the Philippine[s] xxx [is] xxx a

representative government, the office being mere agents and not rulers of the peoplexxx where every officer accepts office pursuant to the provisions of law and holds the

office as a trust for the people whom he represents - Justice George Malcolm,

Cornejo v. Gabriel, 41 Phil. 188, 194 (1920). These words are cited in numerous

cases and it reminds us how our public officers should always be guided of truth and

justice. The Constitution guides public officer through Section 1, Article XI of the

1987 Constitution Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees

must, at all times, be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility,

integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest

lives. In the same way, the Filipinos are emphasized and reminded on Section 1,

Article II of the same Constitution Sovereignty resides in the people and all

government authority emanates from them. These articles work hand in hand to keeppublic officers wary of their actions and to make the people vigilant to any public

officers who are attempting or are already in the process of tainting the prestige and

dignity of their offices. The words of the Constitution are clear as to how the

disqualification and removal of the President, Vice President, Members of the

Constitutional Commission, Ombudsman, and Members of the Supreme Court. These

Sections of Article XI have already proven its power among the line of public officers

who went through impeachment, vis--vis; the words have already protected the

people from public officers who had took advantage of their position.

Several public officers were once at the verge of impeachment but never

pushed through except for Former President Joseph Estrada. In this line of public

officers who were once subject to impeachment proceedings, the countrys very first

Supreme Court Justice to be impeached by the House of Representatives.

Recently, Chief Justice Renato C. Corona is now facing the trials of

impeachment. Filed by representatives Niel C. Tupas Jr., Joseph Emilio A. Abaya,

Lorenzo R. Tanada III, Reynaldo V. Umali, Arlene J Bag-ao a and signed by One

hundred eighty eight (188) house representatives, the articles of impeachment were

submitted to the Senate on December 13, 2011 and the trial has commenced on

January 16, 2012. Corona was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation

of the Constitution, and graft and corruption. The following are the Eight Articles ofImpeachment submitted by the prosecutiont:

1. Betrayal of public trust: Coronas track record was marked by partiality and

subservience in cases involving the Arroyo administration from the time of his

appointment as Supreme Court justice which continued to his dubious appointment as

a midnight chief justice and up to the present.

2. Culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust: Corona

failed to disclose to the public his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth as

required under Section 17, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution.


2/4

3. Culpable violations of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust: Corona

failed to meet and observe the stringent standards under Art. VIII, Section 7 (3) of the

Constitution that provides that [a] member of the judiciary must be a person of

proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence in allowing the Supreme

Court to act on mere letters filed by a counsel which caused the issuance of flip-

flopping decisions in final and executory cases; in creating an excessive entanglementwith Mrs. Arroyo through her appointment of his wife to office; and in discussing

with litigants cases pending before the Supreme Court.

4. Betrayal of public trust and/or culpable violation of the Constitution: The

Supreme Court blatantly disregarded the principle of separation of powers by issuing

a status quo ante order against the House of Representatives in the case concerning

the impeachment of then Ombudsman Merceditas Navarro-Gutierrez.

5. Culpable violations of the Constitution: Through wanton arbitrariness and

partiality in consistently disregarding the principle of res judicata and in deciding in

favor of gerrymandering in the cases involving the 16 newly created cities and thepromotion of Dinagat Island into a province.

6. Betrayal of public trust: Corona arrogated unto himself, and to a committee

he created, the authority and jurisdiction to improperly investigate an alleged erring

member of the Supreme Court for the purpose of exculpating him. Such authority and

jurisdiction is properly reposed by the Constitution in the House of Representatives

via impeachment.

7. Betrayal of public trust: Through partiality in granting a temporary

restraining order (TRO) in favour of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and

her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo in order to give them an opportunity to escape

prosecution and to frustrate the ends of justice, and in distorting the Supreme Court

decision on the effectivity of the TRO in view of a clear failure to comply with the

conditions of the Supreme Courts own TRO.

8. Betrayal of public trust and/or graft and corruption: Corona failed and

refused to account for the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) and Special Allowance

for the Judiciary (SAJ) collections.

Considering these facts presented, it is ridiculous for me to conclude on

something that is still on going. Personally discussing the impeachment proceedingsof Chief Justice Corona is just like playing my fingers on murky water. I might just

confuse myself more about the issues. It is critical as far as my knowledge and

competencies as of this moment. However, as a graduate of Broadcast

Communication as my pre law, I have what vantage point for me to take.

Section 4 of the 1987 constitution states that No law shall be passed

abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the

people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.

This section is not just a guide but an attribute to the Filipinos of what can they

express. In this country, where Media is considered as a fourth estate, airing or

publishing an impeachment case is like serving caviar instead of tuyo. You dont getthis scenario everyday. Its a feast of cameras and a parade of media men all focused


3/4

in this Topsy - Turvy situation. What do these media networks do is provide what the

people want to see. Yes, it is convenient to watch the impeachment in the comfort of

your home, but are we really getting what we want to know or are we getting what the

media would want us to know? Is the media really biased in presenting the corona

impeachment?

On February 1, 2012, Iloilo representative and lead prosecutor Representative

Niel Tupas appeared in Hot Copy, a morning show hosted by Karen Davila in ANC

Channel, a subsidiary network of ABS CBN. This prosecuting lawyer made gave brief

discussions about the impeachment and at the same time discussed some points and

his views about the case. There was also one time when Karen Davila said that she is

somehow close with Tupas wife and that they were even classmates. The Code of

Professional Responsibility under Rule 13.02 states that a lawyer shall not make

public statements in the media regarding a pending case tending to arouse public

opinion for or a against a party. What just Tupas did is a total violation of the said

rule. Somehow his words during the interview may prevent or obstruct the

impeachment proceeding, Though the following day the defense was asked to give anopinion, I still find it unethical in a sense that, those who have first watched Tupas

interview could have accepted it as true. It would be fair if both of them were invited

on the same date so that whenever there will be a question, either side can answer

right away. However, words are spreading that the reason why ABS CBN somehow

favors the prosecution is because of one of their talents is the sister of the President -

Kris Aquino. Though these are merely allegations but we cannot deny the fact that

what just happened in Hot Copy was a total favour to give more highlight to the

prosecution.

For the print media, what I liked reading is the Inquirer. Reading an inquirer

newspaper is totally different from what you watch from ABS CBN. Its style is strong

to the point that it is somehow against to almost anything. However, during this

impeachment, most of the articles were written somehow with a slant on Corona. On

January 17, 2012, an article written by Marlon Ramos, goes with the title: Defense to

block attempts to compel Corona kin to appear on witness stand. This title has a

positive effect on readers and probably for those people who are Coronas side, this is

a good news to them. This story was reported on screen by Henry Omaga Diaz and

was published by ABS CBN in their website. However, what the website said about

what happened was, Corona relatives eyed as prosecution witnesses. For this title, a

person who is in favor of Coronas removal from office will find this as a good news.

The social network, a growing industry for media consumers, is a source of all

information about the case. Unfortunately, people post blogs, statuses, tweets, and we

are not sure how the truthfulness of their claim. We can never be sure about the

source of their emotions for the impeachment case and I find it really dangerous is

that, an emotion of one can be passed along to his or her friends. Its a network. It will

reach massively.

The media has its own biases. It cannot deny that fact. It is a rule among these

media groups to determine what they want their consumers to absorb. The media

consumers are just like sponges that siphon anything that comes. The best thing to do

is to have an image without any bias. We are all human, and we do have our own


4/4

biases but for the case of people who work in media what is required for them is to

present themselves as neutral.

The impeachment case is something that should be presented to people as

somehow will educate them about the government and about their rights. Its is not

for entertainment because if thats what they really wanted, they could have justplayed all Manny Pacquiao matches.

As for us people, we need to be critical with what we see. We cannot always

rely with what we see on TV alone. We have to check all other sources. We have to

educate ourselves and shape opinions based on what we learned and not of what we

heard. We do not have to be that intelligent for us to understand that we are being

abused.

Its media versus free trials. A study conducted by Charles Montado of

California State University shows that a televised trial has a higher percentage of

conviction as compare to those who have none. This just means that Media can stir uppeoples emotions and in the country, most of the time it works.

Lastly, it is ideal that the government is considering the right for a speedy and

impartial trial. However, even if I havent learned the rules yet, all activities done in

the court should always comply with existing laws. The prosecution cannot be

desperate enough to the point that they present things which are not required from

them.

All I fear as of this moment, as the trial continues, is probably a walkout from the

prosecution and through media, they will encourage viewers or listener to gather and

make protest. I believe that it defeats the propose of the law which we, ourselves,

created. What the men cannot punish here will still be punished elsewhere.

justice corona position paper

Documents