Regarding the current issue of the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, I am of two minds on the issue.
On one hand, I wouldn't mind if Corona is removed from his position, as his appointment as Chief Justice was clearly a political accommodation, as well as a midnight appointment, by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. His acceptance of the appointment, aided and abetted by fellow Arroyo appointees in the SC, has tainted the credibility of the SC ever since. Other decisions, such as the del Castillo plagiarism case, wherein the SC justices practically redefined what plagiarism was in order to protect one of their own, have strengthened this lack of credibility.
It also didn't help that Justice Corona, faced with impeachment, blasted President Aquino's apparent desire to control the judiciary, and labeled the popular leader as a 'dictator'. As one commenter noted, Justice Corona forgets that President Aquino was popularly elected, while he was merely appointed by Arroyo, his 'patron', and under suspicious circumstances, at that, considering that the other Arroyo appointees (except Justices Nachura and Velasco, who stated that voting on the issue was premature, as well as Corona himself, who inhibited) basically reinterpreted the Constitution in order to defend Arroyo's appointment of Corona.
At the same time, I am very bothered by the heavy-handed tactics employed by the Aquino administration to impeach Justice Corona. It doesn't help that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who appears to be giving former Injustice Secretary Raul Gonzalez a run for his money in terms of arrogance, has been combative towards the Chief Justice and the SC: first, by ignoring a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Court, and, second, by warning the SC that the President aims to reclaim the SC for the people.
It's also troubling that not all of the 188 representatives who signed the impeachment complaint had actually read the complaint, which implies that Arroyo-style tactics of arm-twisting via the pork barrel may have been employed to obtain the signatures.
In addition, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, Jr., the chairman of the House justice committee, stated that, aside from Justice Corona and SC Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, two other SC justices will also be impeached. Thus far, the two justices have not been named.
These statements by de Lima and Tupas hint that the Aquino administration appears to be launching an all-out attack on the judiciary, no matter what presidential spokespersons have stated to the contrary. If this is the case, the Aquino administration is not doing the country a favor by weakening the judiciary arm of government, as this may cause people to resort to vigilante justice in order to seek redress.
By all means, I am for impeaching Justice Corona, but only if due process is followed, and there is sufficient evidence to back up the articles of impeachment. If the Aquino administration is simply going to use the tyranny of numbers to convict Corona, then that would not be justice, merely an arrogant exercise of power.
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