Chief Justice Renato Corona is right not to heed the call of the prosecution for him to take a leave of absence while the impeachment trial in the Senate is pending. Perhaps, he just wants to be in a position to fight back, considering that he has been forced to defend himself against the most powerful politician in our country.
First of all, if convicted by the Senate, Corona would lose his position. On the other hand, he has nothing to gain materially, even if he is exonerated.
Secondly, while the impeachment case is pending, Corona would be the subject of an unending barrage of unsavory remarks from different sectors of society, which, to be sure, will cause him mental anguish.
Thirdly, Corona will be in a most unfair and disadvantageous position if he even takes a leave of absence while the impeachment trial is going on, inasmuch as he would be kept out of the limelight and public eye, while President Aquino, his real opponent and the country’s most influential official, would be left alone in the publicity arena.
Of course, Corona’s acquittal by the Senate would be a triumph of justice and the Rule of Law. If we are to believe the opinion of some constitutionalists that the impeachment trial is more of “a numbers game,” whoever has the majority vote will emerge victorious. And this precisely is what actually happened recently in the House of Representatives. As the old saying goes, “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins.”
Can anyone blame the Chief Justice for refusing to take a leave of absence given that situation?
—ARTURO M. TOPACIO JR.,
Topacio Law Office,
Corner Lopez Jaena and Dra. Salamanca Streets,
San Roque, Cavite City