It was Day 13 of the Impeachment Trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona and this day because of the pending ruling on the motion for the subpoenas regarding Corona’s bank accounts the prosecution proceeded with the presentation of the Article 3 instead of the continuation of the Article 2.
The prosecution presented a witness from the FASAP Mr. Roberto Anduiza, who testified regarding the “flip-flopping” issue of the Supreme Court concerning their case against the Philippine Airlines (PAL). He said the Chief Justice influenced the decision resulting to the reversal of the previous decisions being made by the SC. Meanwhile the Defense postponed its cross examination saying they still need time to study the documents with regards to Anduiza’s testimony to which the prosecution objects but the presiding jusdge overruled the objection in favor of the defense.
But what’s more notable about day 13 is one of the public prosecutors and Ilocos Representative Rudy Fariñas’ comic relief during his response to senate president and presiding judge Juan Ponce Enrile’s question on the relevance of the SC’s financial records to the Article 3. Their exchange of opinions took a little while which became some sort of relief and light moments at the senate.
But the highlight of it was, when Sen. Jinggoy Estrada asked Fariñas if he signed the impeachemt complaint to which Fariñas answered no. Because according to him he wasn’t able to read the entire complaint as he was not a fast reader unlike his colleagues in the congress. And what’s really notable about Fariñas’ moment is his statement “medyo masama rin po kasi yung pagkagawa ng konti eh, hindi na ako pumirma” which ellicited laughter from the Senators and the gallery as well.
Some observers commented it was a blow to the prosecution because one of it’s prosecutors admitted that the complaint was not masterfully crafted. But the prosecution insisted that Fariñas only spoke of his observations and it doesn’t mean he dont believe in the complaint. They said what’s important is the substance and content which is strong enough to convict and strip Renato Corona of his post as Chief Justice of the land.
———————————————————————————————————————
“Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.” —Will Rogers
Related articles
- [In the news] PAL union leader testifies vs Corona -INQUIRER.net (hronlineph.com)
