President Noynoy Aquino meddling in Corona impeachment trial

President Noynoy Aquino (PNoy) released yet another disturbing statement when he voiced his disappointment over the Supreme Court’s decision to grant the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the Senate impeachment court order compelling PSbank to release records on foreign currency accounts allegedly belonging to impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona. Considering PNoy insisted that he took no part in the decision to impeach the Chief Justice, why does he feel the need to help the prosecution by meddling in the proceedings of the impeachment court?

House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez could not help but notice that the President is throwing his weight around again and had “blatantly and carelessly displayed his gang-lord mentality.”

As usual, the President gave lame reasons behind his challenging Chief Justice Corona into disclosing the said account. He “dared Corona to voluntarily open his dollar accounts to scrutiny to prove he had nothing to hide.” But why should he? Even House Deputy Minority Leader and Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay found it ridiculous that PNoy expects the Chief Justice to incriminate himself.

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY!
Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us.
Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider!
Learn more

No one in his right mind will incriminate himself,” Magsaysay said.

“The burden of proof is with the accusers, and so far they have been bungling and messing up their cause.

“The President and his cohorts know deep in their hearts that the purported pieces of bank evidence against the chief justice were illegally acquired, and therefore are questionable, toxic documents with no probative value and that are inadmissible in court.”

What PNoy is asking is akin to saying, “I want to prove you are corrupt but you have to give me some evidence.” And as mentioned before, the presentation of Corona’s alleged dollar accounts and his existing peso accounts are not covered by the articles of impeachment. The impeachment court resolved earlier that the evidence for Article 2.4 would be disallowed. Article 2.4 pertains to the alleged “ill-gotten wealth” of the Chief Justice.

PNoy and his mouthpieces in the media also insinuated that Chief Justice Corona is hiding behind the law. Never mind that it was PSbank that sought the TRO from the Supreme Court. It seems that to PNoy, any move even by private institutions that appear to favor PNoy’s political enemies is seen as a desperate act of hiding the “truth”. Likewise, he implied that PSBank could be protecting people who are into money laundering and other criminal activities when he said that “laws protecting foreign currency accounts from undue scrutiny were not meant to protect criminals and their loot stashed as dollar deposits in the country’s banks.”

PNoy asked another head scratcher when he threw the question “Can persons who did something wrong place the proceeds of their crimes into a dollar account?” As if he is not even aware that some people are already doing that. I personally think that he should refrain from thinking aloud specially in front of the media because what comes out tends to show just how clueless he is. Obviously, some people are already using that loophole in the law. But one can’t assume that just because someone has a dollar account he or she is already hiding something. Speaking of dollar accounts, on Friday Malacañang refused to divulge PNoy’s dollar accounts. If PNoy doesn’t want to show his, how can he expect others to show theirs?

In trying to convince the public that issuing a TRO against the disclosure of the alleged dollar accounts was wrong, PNoy also mentioned that it could have an impact on the economy. His statement is another indication that his views about the economy seem quite limited. When he acknowledged that the law could encourage depositors, he should have already realized that it would be good for the economy.

The President of the Philippines should know that “the exemption of the foreign currency deposits from attachment, garnishment or any other order process of any court is to assure the development and speedy growth of the Foreign Currency Deposit System and the Offshore Banking System in the Philippines; another reason is to encourage the inflow of foreign currency deposits into the banking institutions thereby placing such institutions more in a position to properly channel the same to loans and investments in the Philippines, thus directly contributing to the economic development of the country.

Another point the chief executive tried to make was when he cited that in 1989, the Supreme Court decided to allow the disclosure of Greg Bartelli y Northcott’s dollar account in his trial for the rape of then 12 year-old Karen Salvacion. First of all, it is worth stressing that it was the Supreme Court, not an Impeachment Court, who decided to allow it; and second, PNoy conveniently forgot to mention that R.A. 6426 was held to be “inapplicable” to that case because of its “peculiar circumstances.” Here is the final transcript of the ruling:

R.A. 6426 are hereby held to be INAPPLICABLE to this case because of its peculiar circumstances. Respondents are hereby REQUIRED to COMPLY with the writ of execution issued in Civil Case No. 89-3214, Karen Salvacion, et al. vs. Greg Bartelli y Northcott, by Branch CXLIV, RTC Makati and to RELEASE to petitioners the dollar deposit of respondent Greg Bartelli y Northcott in such amount as would satisfy the judgment.

The reason why it was peculiar was because the suspect, an American tourist escaped from jail and after “hearing the testimony of Karen, the Court [believed] that it was undoubtedly a shocking and traumatic experience”, which required compensation.

Obviously, the decision of the Supreme Court in the Salvacion case in 1989 cannot be applied to the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona now because the latter hasn’t been found guilty or liable for any damages yet.

What’s disturbing in PNoy’s meddling is when he said that the “Palace was considering appealing the TRO on the basis the Supreme Court may not interfere in impeachment proceedings.” Again, the President’s minders need to remind him that he cannot interpret the law the way he wants to because the Supreme Court is the sole and final interpreter of the law. Otherwise, he is just confirming to the public the allegations that he is the main instigator in the bid to oust Chief Justice Corona.

56 Replies to “President Noynoy Aquino meddling in Corona impeachment trial”

  1. the obvious meddling of N/A only shows his desire to convict the CJ at all cost, there are now reports of malacanang offering 100M to senators to overturn the TRO… this is bothersome coz not only does he control congress but also attempting to do so with the senate, his desire to get rid of the CJ out of the SC sends a signal that nobody dare gets along his way, not even mindful of the separation of powers in the three branches of government!

      1. and that is a genuine impeachable offense committed by Pnoy:( sorry mr. president but that is a culpable violation of the constitution…your popularity has dwindled faster than the thinning of your scalp..perhaps by august 2012 you will wake up one day that your 188 speed readers will draft another impeachment case against you coz you can no longer release a development fund for their projects because of your weak management of the the country’s economy. these people who shouted to crucify the cj will be the same people to burn your effigies… and Binay will banner his popularity stock as apparently he is really doing better than you, mr.president..

        this will make you realize that you are only fit for a yaya job for josh, no more no less because of your laziness and mediocrity, mr. president (the man who burn his house for failing to trap the single rat.

        you have a speed readers 188 pet stupid fat cats that are confused if they are fit to be called cats or rats pampered by his idiot master so they went out for fishing to find out if they are really worthy to be called as cats but since they are heavy, it makes them lazy and simply chose to lay down in their comfort zone and let the spectators enjoy the situation…really it’s more fun in the philippines.

    1. The king in Yellow is riding on a power trip thanks to his so-called crusade against corruption(which is not applicable to his minions)his reflected glory that comes from being the son of a popular hero(your mileage may vary)and and the fact that he thinks that he can fool the gullible(enlightenment however has shone on some of these guys.

      It seems that he feels the need to be in the forefront of this particular endeavor(could this stem from his lack of self-confidence? It is). Well and good, a leader is always in the front, but I must question the focus of his attention. If you think that your minions are up to the task why the heck are wasting your effort? wouldn’t be better to spearhead economic side which has been severely neglected. Such actions do not make sense unless your minions need guidance due to their stupidity.(which they are)

      A very bloody mess, my consolation is that I didn’t vote for him so I’m not a willing/unwilling accomplice to this bloody situation.

  2. BenignO:

    Justice Robert H. Jackson, concurring in Brown v. Allen (1953), phrased it this way:

    “We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final.”

    1. @Domingo Arong

      The United States Constitution is not the Philippine Constitution of 1987. The former was framed for a U.S. setting while the latter was framed exclusively for the Philippines. Cite your American Jurisprudence in its entirety. Do not just quote a shortie. For all you failed to know… this jurisprudence may apply only to a single U.S. Case within its jurisdiction. Please avoid disinformation.

      1. Just a rejoinder:

        According to Senator Miriam Santiago in the argument on Supreme Court’s TRO –

        “The Constitution provides that: “The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.” The phrase “sole power” means only that impeachment shall not be conducted by any other branch or agency. The phrase “to try and decide” means only that the Supreme Court cannot try or decide the impeachment case.

        Some people seem to be confused that judicial review of impeachment procedures is equivalent to judicial determination of the outcome. But this does not mean that the Supreme Court has the power of judicial review over all constitutional questions. It only means that the SC cannot exercise full judicial review, but it retains the power of the most minimal judicial review. This is a result of the theory of checks and balances.”

        More on http://miriam.com.ph/newsblog/?p=657#more-657

      2. The idiocy of Guingona in the TRO issue:

        “MANIFESTATION OF SENATOR TG GUINGONA NOT TO UPHOLD TRO

        Mr. PRESIDENT:

        Tumayo po ako para iparating ang damdamin ng maraming mga kababayan antin na aking nakausap nitong nakaraang ilang araw.

        Biyernes pa lang po nang gabi, kalat na ang balita na naglabas ng Temporary Restraining Order ang Korte Suprema laban sa Senado na gumaganap ng tungkulin bilang isang Impeachment Court sa ilalim ng ating Konstitusyon.

        Gusto ko lang pong ipahayag ang damdamin ng mga kababayan natin matapos makarating sa kanila ang ganitong balita.

        Dalawa po, Ginoong Pangulo.

        Una, pangamba. Fear and worry.

        Pangalawa, pagkabigo. Disappointment, frustration bordering on despair.

        Bakit pangamba? Ganito po ang paliwanag. Naglabas ng TRO ang Korte Suprema na pumipigil sa atin na tingnan ang ilang bank accounts ng nasasakdal. Ang pangamba ay ito – meron pang isang TRO petition ang nasa korte suprema ngayon. Ano daw po ang pipigil sa korte na maglabas ng pangalawa ? O pangatlo? O Pang-apat?

        Pangalawa po, ginoong pangulo, pagkabigo. Ang sabi, eto na naman tayo. Ayaw na naman ipakita sa atin ang buong larawan. Ayaw na naman tayong bigyan ng access sa katotohanan.

        Bigo. Nangangamba.

        Ginoong Pangulo, yumuko tayo sa unang TRO na ibinato sa Impeachment Court na ito.

        Ang tanong ng mga kababayan natin: may dahilan pa po ba para hindi yumuko ang Impeachment Court sa susunod na TRO na ibabato sa atin? At sa pangatlo? At sa pang-apat?

        Isa pa pong tanong: hindi daw po kaya ang TRO na ito ay isa na namang paggamit ng teknikalidad ng batas para pahirapin ang paghahanap nila ng katotohanan.

        Hindi daw po ba ito magreresulta sa “bankruptcy”? Bankruptcy of transparency? At bankruptcy of accountability?

        Pero mas mahirap tanggapin ang maging bankrupt ang buong prosesong ito sa transparency at accountability sa mga kababayan natin.

        Ginoong Pangulo, iginagalang ko po ang aking mga kapwa senador-hukom, at iginagalang ko ang desisyon ng nakararami.

        Pero, mahalaga pong kahit sa ilang sandali ay madinig sa bulwagang ito ang damdamin ng ating mga kababayan.

        Ang damdamin ng pangamba.

        At ang damdamin ng pagkabigo.

        Ng isa na namang malaking pagkabigo sa paghahanap ng katotohanan.”

        As I have commented before, these congressmen idiots have no shame in using indefinite pronouns (us, all, everybody, etc.) to stress their pomposity.

        According to idiot Quimbo in an interview about Corona’s impeachment ”everybody in the country knows he has ill gotten wealth.”

        And now we have this idiot Guingona, according to him-

        “Gusto ko lang pong ipahayag ang damdamin ng mga kababayan natin matapos makarating sa kanila ang ganitong balita.”

        And this one –

        “Ang tanong ng mga kababayan natin: may dahilan pa po ba para hindi yumuko ang Impeachment Court sa susunod na TRO na ibabato sa atin? At sa pangatlo? At sa pang-apat?”

        Tayo ba ang tinutukoy nya???

        Guingona you’re an idiot!

        1. isa pa etong guingona na eto na magpapahamak sa kinabukasan ng bansa. dapat eto ay imbestigahan din, ako mismo magpapatunay na malaki ang KITA nito… sa LAKI ba nmn NG MATA nito weh!

          ano ba ang utak nito? idinamay pa tayo sa kanyang kabubuhan sa batas! masyado ka ng halata sir! wag mo kaming idamay sa sarili mong pananaw kc kahit malaki mata mo at malaki rin kita mo alam namin ang kahalagahan ng korte suprema na hindi kukunsintihin ang among abnoy sa ano man nyang kapritso kahit na maglulupasay pa sya sa lupain ng inari nilang HLI. doon mo gamitin ang mata mo, tingnan mo ang mga kasalanan nila sa mga mamayan doon. alamin mo ang pinagmulan ng HLI at ang estorya nila sa simulat-simula pa at masasabi mo na sa laki ng mata mo, tanging ang tuldok lang sa gitna ng papel na puti ang nakikita mo pero ang kabuuhan ng papel ay di mo nakikita…

        2. I agree, Trosp. The guy is an idiot. He doesn’t know what he is talking about.

          The Supreme Court has enough grounds to junk this impeachment trial due to the prosecution’s violations.

  3. The little boy is crying foul again because his playmates did not give him the toy that he wants. Tsk tsk.

    When will he learn that “daang matuwid” is not supposed to be “my way or the highway”? Or that he should stop burning the house down just to catch the one that got away?

    If we consider, in addition, what writer BenK wrote about Aquino essentially begging for foreign intervention regarding Corona’s accounts, then the country is headed even quicker into deeper doo-doo.

    1. abnoy has his own way of interpreting the law…before he became a president he was at row 4 in congress seated there doing nothing but scratching his bald head consistently coz he cannot understand what his job is.

      1. it is because the majority of the media people specially the abs-cbn and some business groups covered all his sins to the people..these entities protect the image of the president so that their businesses will continue to win prime business contracts in the PPPP (Private Public Partnership Projects).

        let us dig dipper into these projects and you will unmask the unholy alliance of the Kamag-anak Inc. and the business groups involved.

      2. That’s basically the SOP of a tyrant(or in his case upcoming tyrant. appeal to the people’s emotions not their common sense. Sound like a certain guy in Germany who became popular with his countrymen in 1933…..

    1. Need we ask why Philippines remains poor while our neighbors have already overtaken us? My, even Vietnam and Indonesia are now more advanced!

      In the final analysis, we just get the government that we deserve. We have put this upon ourselves.

    2. Well I didn’t, so it’s no burden on my conscience. Problem is that a lot of people were blinded by the glamor of him being the national hero’s son.

  4. Is Lacierda really a lawyer? He told Mike Enriquez that up to now they haven’t received a copy of the TRO. Dios mio, they are not party to the case, yet they expect the court to furnish them a copy of the said TRO? It only proves that they are the architect of this impeachment circus which they have been denying from the very beginning.

    1. Gees…did he really say that? Leila de Lima already used that line when the SC issued a TRO against the hold departure on GMA. Laciera doesn’t need a copy of the TRO because he is not part of the prosecution.

      1. yup he said it on mike’s radio/tv morning show. my mom who was a stenographer before she retired( so she is familiar with the process) was in disbelief. he finds lacierda to be ignorant stupid and petulant.

      2. nahuhuli ang isda sa bibig di ba mr. lasyada? alam nmn ng mga tao na kasama kayo sa nag railroad ng impeachment na eto. eh sa takbo ng inyong pananalita ay trademark ng student council ang pagkaka draft ng impeachment complaints. hahaha, dapat nagtayo na lang kau ng beauty parlor at kulutin nyo na lang ang amo nyo na panot! hehehe di po ba miss francine prieto?…hihihi

        1. hay naku, puro kau sulsol ki pnoy! di na kayo naawa sa tao? ha mr. lasyada…porke ba dahil sa abnoy sya ay mapapawalang sala sya sa mga pag salaula nya sa constitution at kawalang silbi sa bayan?. ciguro nga dahil ginawa na ni kiko pangilinan ang batas na magliligtas sa mga walang muwang,kaya magkakakampi ang mga gung-gung na eto kasama na dyan si diktador in the making na senador na trillianes dahil malabo na etong iboboto ng mga kabaro nya sa nangyari ki dakilang angelo reyes. bigla na rin etong yumaman ng maging senador.

  5. All the while, PweNoy, proclaimed that he will not meddle in the affairs of the impeachment court, but does otherwise..

    that’s a very good example of hi so-called “Daang Patuwad”..

    He is a spoiled brat who throws tantrums every time things dont go his way..

    1. It would be hard to grow up if you choose to surround yourself with people who do nothing but praise you even if you haven’t done anything significant.

  6. CHUWARIWARIWAP does it again. Could the Malacanang mouthpieces please explain what is their personality to make an appeal about the TRO? Last I checked, only PSBank and the Senate are involved. As far as I know, not even the prosecution can make an appeal to the SC.

  7. The House, especially the Minority, SHOULD initiate an investigation on the Malacanang bribes claim of the defense. Former Sen. Tatad has publicly stated that some senators admitted to him that there was indeed such an attempt by Ochoa who would not do so without the blessing of Pnoy.

    Calling the congressmen. This is a serious issue as that is an IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE by the President. If that is not culpable violation of the constitution and betrayal of public trust, I do not know what is.

    I know, as what Sen. Santiago said, Filipinos are already having impeachment nausea. But that should not be an excuse to let this CRIME just pass off. If this government is true to its pro-accountability stance, then start the cleansing within. Let the ax fall where it may!

    1. If there is one person who should be impeached, it should be the instigator of this persecution of CJ Corona. We all know who that is.

  8. Noynoy Aquino wants to interpret the law, on his own advantage…If Corona will show his dollar accounts…we require also the Senators who voted against the TRO, to show their dollar account…We expect the Hacienda Luisita Swine Tupas, and the other Swine, Drilon, to show their dollar accounts…
    It’s a Court show, that divert our attention to the spiraling downward economy…Prices of gasoline are now going up and up. Because of the Iran-U.S. conflict. Israel may go for the first strike against the Nuclear Facilities of Iran…Iran promised to block the Straight of Hormuz, the passage ways of Oil Tankers…so, we must be attending to these matters…instead of the useless politics of impeaching people…

    1. and the survey about the president popularity said he is still enjoying the approval of majority and malacanang was elated on it. but, sometimes when surveys does not favor Pnoy, they said, those were farced???

      i wonder who finances this survey and where it is conducted? if it is conducted inside the premise of malacanang and congress, that is accurate! but if it is conducted in the streets or in public markets or in the offices of the private institution and factories, they will get the real sentiments of the people..and these biased newpapers and ABS-CBN will censored those real sentiments and they are putting their idiot president in peril…sige lang kayo chuwariwariwap!…magigising lang kayong lahat na pagkatapos ng kanyang term ay di pa rin matapos-tapos ang flyover sa makati at underpass sa araneta.o bka di na matapos ang kanyang term???

  9. Pwede mag request? Pwede pakipalitan yung picture ni noynoy dito, nakakairita na eh, parang may sayad ang itsura niya dito, sa tuwing mapapanood ko sa mga interview puro kapilosopohan at pasaring ang mga sagot parehas sila ni jesse robredo lasy year na over exposed sa media, na ang mga sagot naman parang walang patutunguhan…para kang nakikinig sa kwento ng lasenggero sa kanto.

      1. Ilda, paki translate nga sa ingles etong salita niya ditong “Naman…”http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/video/110083/pangulong-noynoy-aquino-muling-pinasaringan-si-chief-justice-renato-corona sa lahat ata ng mga naging pinuno ng buong mundo, eto na yung pinaka showbiz…Geez

  10. when an administration is a failure, they blame others. sa mga speeches puro mensahe ng EDSA ang paunang salita. Ano nga ba ang nagawa nito sa ating mga kababayan. matagal na panahon na nangyari pero hindi mo maramdaman ang diwa. lagi na lang ang rehimeng Marcos ang sinisisi. dumaan na ang ina at ngayon ang anak naman… dapat may mga nangyari na na pag-unlad. ituwid mo noynoy ang sarili mong daan at huwag ka nang lumingon sa sinasabi mong lubaklubak na daan….

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.