Impeachment court subpoenas SC clerk of court, 12 others
Thursday, 19 January 2012 00:00
THE Senate impeachment court has subpoenaed the clerk of court of the Supreme Court and 12 others to testify during the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. The 13 witnesses will be made to testify on Article II of Impeachment, which accuses the chief magistrate of failure to disclose his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN). The 11-man prosecution team of the House of Representatives earlier asked the Senate, sitting as the impeachment court, to subpoena Supreme Court clerk of court Atty. Enriqueta Esguerra-Vidal and bring with her copies of Corona's SALN from 2002 to 2011.
Also asked to testify were the registers of deeds and city assessors of Quezon City, Marikina City, Makati City, Taguig City, Pasay City, and Paranaque City. The House prosecution panel challenged the embattled chief justice to present to the Senate impeachment trial his SALN to once and for all quell suspicions surrounding his acquisition of several Real Estate properties. "We believe that someone who has nothing to hide would not be afraid to testify before the impeachment court to clear his name. But it appears that the chief justice prefers to plead his case with the media and the public despite repeatedly saying that he was not afraid to face the prosecution," said House Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo "Erin" Tanada III, one of the spokesmen for the House prosecution panel.
"We had hoped the chief justice was willing to take advantage of the venue to clarify matters regarding his SALN and the non-disclosure of his properties himself," he added. House prosecutors found it ironic that Corona had been willing to discuss his properties with employees of the Supreme Court and with the press, but had instructed his defense team to block any attempt that would compel him and members of his family to go to the witness stand.
"Chief Justice Corona has spoken about the titles line by line in public, in front of the Supreme Court, so waiving his right against self-incrimination. But they continue to use this as technicality in effect to reject any means to get into these titles. Whenever it's convenient, they use this technicality to be able to stop us to actually know their SALN," said Marikina Rep. Romero Federico "Miro" Quimbo, another spokesman of the House prosecution team. "This (Senate impeachment court) is the best venue for him to say his position on every article of impeachment but unfortunately he has chosen to let the court employees take the cudgels for him at the expense of court operations," he said. PNA
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