Now that the monumental waste of time that is the prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona has rested its case, the much-awaited segment of this circus — the Serafin Cuevas Show — begins!
As the honourable “Senator-Judge” Koko Pimentel observed, Filipino law students get valuable free lessons on trial proceedings by watching the elder Top Gun attorney. Indeed, the Prosecution team has highlighted the dismal state that Law education in the Philippines has sunk to in the last several weeks of the trial. It’s time the Philippine law community show what it is really made of.
Tune in to tomorrow’s (the 29th of Feb) Impeachment Trial session as the panel with the brains and the beauty — the impeachment trial Defense Panel, take the stage to deliver a truly intellectual experience to a moronism-weary Filipino Public!
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[Photo courtesy Interaksyon.com.]
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Shit just got real. Prosecution is in trouble now.
I love that photo btw!
It’s time to play GROUND AND POUND with the prosecution….with the prosecution on the receiving end of the GROUND AND POUND!!!
hairdo looks like Mao Zedong’s.
@Roe Richard: that’s not mao’s hairdo. that’s mr. burns’ hairdo (the simpsons). come to think of it, Mang Apin looks and acts every bit like Mr. Burns. ahhaah
Defense Panel:
“Excellent. Let’s burn some incompetent prosecutors.”
he is one of the 3 stoogis
At least he has more brains than The 3 Stooges. Noynoy and his minions are a comedy act.
be very afraid of…the man in white suit!
Given that white is, in Eastern cultures, symbolic of death…
Cuevas, the Angel of Death!
Oh dear! This will be a great show! I wonder how high the ratings will be?
Justice Serafin Cuevas is the man!!! so calm yet so full of wit!…:)
Cuevas is going to hit them with so many rights, they’re going to beg for a left.
The defense is going to hit them so hard, the prosecution will retreat with their tails behind their legs.
The defense is going to hit them, the prosecution will be hit.
Talk about anti-climax.
Guess it’s time for Atty. Cuevas to show them what a real lawyer does.
The photo looks like he’s saying “I will need only five (5) moves to finish this”
jcc shouldn’t blink. he might finally learn what real Attorneys do.
Philippine lawyers are itching to be redeemed after that astounding spectacle of bad lawyering exhibited by the prosecution team.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the prosecution supposed to present evidence and witnesses for more articles of impeachment? Why are they stopping now? Has the prosecution effort been abandoned?
Why are they stopping now?
Answer: To stop the bleeding and save themselves from further humiliation. Plus the Filipino people have gone tired of their incompetence and their lies (have you seen Tiongson and Tupas in a wedding picture at FB?)
Has the prosecution team released statements giving out their reasons, even half-assed reasons at that, or have they remained mum?
If the senators are politically savvy, and barring any other, uh, incentives, they should be able to read the signs of the times and vote accordingly.
Can’t wait to see this.
I can picture Cuevas being level 99, leading his team of lawyers who are at least level 90.
Ace Attorney in real life? Boom.
Prosection team is at level 0
Tupas is at level 0
Prosecution team will be drowning at level 0. Tupas will be drowning too at level 0.
It is clear that the entire process is a farce. CJ will get off when it is VERY clear that he is simply one more corrupt politician here in the PH.None of this or the overall country in general will change until the public wearies of the bullshit and hold their officials truly accountable. The politicians will never even attempt to be honest our truly serve the public until they are paid a living wage. It is a vicious circle that will never end……ututter stupidity on a national scale
Hmm, no sign of the yellow critter vincenzo.
I guess he’s still crying over the major verbal ownage dished out by miriam to the prosecution team.
Impeachment
[ The Simple Act of Accusation ]
It is quite surprising to realise just how many people mistakenly believe that the term
” impeachment ” is an end result; namely .. ” Dismissal from Office “.
On the other hand, considering the process has only taken place a few of times since it’s inception, perhaps the confusion, most particularly evident among ” Non-Native English speakers “, is not too surprising!
So, to explain, let’s start at the beginning …
Since ” Heads of States ” and ” Presidents ” and ” Chief Justices ” are generally the individuals who sign bills into Law and thereby control the Law, they cannot be indicted, far less brought to trial whilst in office – no matter how serious their crime against the State may be.
To get around this stumbling block, the impeachment process, which originated in ” Medieval England “, but has since largely fallen into disuse, is generally applied.
To ” impeach ” simply means to ” accuse “, therefore, the person accused, automatically becomes ” impeached ” from the outset.
The next step is the ” Impeachment Trial ” where the ” evidence against the accused is on trial ” – not the accused himself, since he, of course, is still in Office and cannot, therefore, be tried!
The ” mock ” trial that ensues, is normally conducted by members of the ” Lower House ” in the presence of the ” Upper Chamber ” members whose involvement is principally to determine if the evidence laid before them would ” prosper “, or not, in a ” Criminal Court ” – nothing more; nothing less!
Since the accused is not on trial and under no obligation to defend himself or even attend such a hearing, there can be no pronouncements of ” Guilt ” or ” Innocence “.
If the deliberations of the ” Upper House ” indicate that the evidence will not prosper in court, that is the end of the matter and the accused remains in office
If, on the other hand, the deliberations of the ” Upper House ” show that the evidence could prosper in court, the accused will be invited to resign immediately; after which he can be properly ” indicted ” on criminal charges in the ” Courts of Justice “.
Should he, however, refuse to resign, he can still be indicted by the aggrieved parties for whatever offences he was originally accused of, at the end of his current term,
Like the defense counsel, I too, am a student of English Law in my eighties!
The whole purpose of the Impeachment process is to ensure that the government won’t suffer a complete shutdown, for many months, during which time, no Bills could be signed into Law, whilst such individuals would be attending a Court of law as a result of any possible irresponsible accusations against them!
Hence the need for a special “Courtâ€
My questions for Attorney Serafin Ceuva, therefore, are these …
How, can the Philippine media, seemingly including many legal minds, and the Filipino people believe …
1. That the person impeached is on trial, which he isn’t and that he can be found guilty during the Impeachment trial, which he cannot be, until he is first indicted by a Court of Law?
2. That the simple penalty of dismissal from office would only result in the accussed laughing all the way to his Bank!
I’m not justice Cuevas but i’m gonna take a shot at your questions
1. this is not England, ergo, we do not follow the Queen’s Law. we have a committee who determines the rules of the impeachment court
2. the result of conviction does not only entail dismissal. it will also affect his and his family’s name and honor forever. and that sir, is not a simple penalty
Atty Serafin Cuevas, new rock star indeed. Nothing escapes him. Sharp as a razor at 84 yo. He makes any lawyer, or anyone for that matter, half his age seem puny. He has my deep respect.
Serafin Cuevas is a real trouper! He’s a class on his own, with pure savvy, sharp wit, and insightful wisdom. He’s a one-man show, a one-man act, an SRO crowd-drawer. He really rocks. Go, cuevas! Knock ’em down. The prosecution is a shame to the legal profession! Show ’em and wow ’em! We’re watching you – let the show begin!!!
I just watched the trial today. I got a little bit disappointed with Cuevas. Oh well, I think the guy is just warming up 🙂
He’s a proud member of the Iglesia ni Cristo , I wonder what local congregation he belongs .
it takes a lot of balls to take on a juggernaut such as the philippine government in the name of equal protection and judicial independence.
justice cuevas is so punk! 😉
it takes a lot of balls to take on a juggernaut such as the philippine government in the name of equal protection and judicial independence.
justice cuevas is a rockstar and an iconoclast! 😉
Cuevas really showed up… for the prosecution.
Lol naconvict si Corona dahil sa kagagawan ng mga abugado nya. What a show indeed!