CJ to answer charges or wants case dismissed?

Like nearly every Filipino adult I know, I tune in to the coverage of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona whenever my busy schedule allows it. From watching the Chief Justice’s defense lawyers in action, I’ve come to understand how lawyers get such a bad reputation. It’s hard to believe there are people in this country who are that disconnected from reality.

The public pulse is clear: the Chief Justice must be tried. Must we remind everyone that this is also an opportunity for Corona to clear his name? Corona himself has even claimed that he will answer the charges “point by point,” yet on the very first day of the impeachment trial his lawyers argued that the hearing should not take place at all. Isn’t this yet another “reversal” from our Chief Justice who heads a Supreme Court that has become notorious for its record of controversial “reversals”?

The defense lawyers are intent on winning their case by any means. But the only true victory that can be had from this impeachment trial is the truth.

I am also frustrated with the attempt of some media outlets to portray impeached Chief Justice Corona as a victim. He is no victim. The real victims in this case are the Filipino people. There is no reason for us, or media, to feel sorry for Corona. For, to be sure, if he and his defense lawyers succeed in stopping the impeachment trial with a mere legal technicality, the Filipino people will end up the biggest loser.

—DAVID YULO, [email protected]