House prosecution panel refines sequence of Articles of Impeachment
Thursday, 19 January 2012 00:00
THE House of Representatives' prosecution panel on Wednesday informed the Senate, sitting as the impeachment court, of the new order or sequence of the Articles of Impeachment by which the prosecution will present its evidence during the trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. In a four-page manifestation fi led through lead public prosecutor Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. and private prosecutor Mario Luza Bautista, the panel said it would first present evidence on three articles of impeachment -- Articles 2, 1 and 7. Article 2 pertains to Corona's alleged ill-gotten properties that he failed to declare in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), which has been assigned to Reps. Marilyn Primicias-Aggabas of Pangasinan and Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Cavite.
Article 1, which will be handled by Reps. Raul Daza of Northern Samar, Tupas and Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna party-list, refers to the chief justice's perceived bias in favor of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her administration. On the other hand, Article 7 involves Corona's partiality in granting a temporary restraining order (TRO) in favor of Mrs. Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, in order to give them an opportunity to escape prosecution. The House prosecution vowed to "timely inform" the impeachment court and the defense of the next articles that will be the subject of the succeeding evidence before the presentation on the fi rst three articles is completed.
"The presentation of evidence on the next three articles will then be followed by the presentation of evidence on the last two articles after due notice to the Honorable Impeachment Court and the respondent," the manifestation said. The House prosecution requested that it should be afforded "fl exibility and wide latitude" in the presentation of its evidence, particularly in terms of sequencing. "Such flexibility and latitude are especially important in this impeachment proceeding, which has to be tried expeditiously and without delay, consistent with the Honorable Senate's mandate to 'forthwith proceed' with the trial," said Tupas at the start of Wednesday's trial. Tupas said there is a need for liberal application of procedural rules to allow the amplest opportunity to present evidence since impeachment is a unique exercise which involves a matter of the highest public interest. The House prosecution said it would be "impractical and restrictive" to predetermine such sequence and limit presentation of evidence to such sequence.
It pointed out that even in trials of ordinary cases -- whether civil, criminal or otherwise -- the party presenting evidence is given discretion and wide latitude on the manner and order of presenting its evidence. "There is simply no rule or law which requires the prosecution or complainant to present his evidence according to the sequence of the allegations stated in the complaint or any other fi xed sequence," the prosecution said. "As held in one case, the prosecution has the discretion as to how to present its case and it has the right to choose whom it wishes to present as witnesses," it added. In a two-page document submitted to the Senate, Tupas filed an entry of appearance for Atty. Jose Antonio Hernandez into the impeachment trial. PNA
BY LILYBETH G. ISON
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