What Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. says about the verdict on the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
TEDITORIAL
THE WORLD TONIGHT
By Teddy Locsin Jr.
29 May 2012
The Answer Is No
…Today was not the day of decision. But the day the decision would be announced.
Like in a bicameral conference committee, for all the haste of this impeachment, it must have been discussed before it was filed.
The decision of the Senate Impeachment Court, making up a law as the trial went along, and then convicting for it, is the bill of attainder of which Enrile warned.
“On Article II of the Articles of Impeachment against Hon. Chief Justice Renato C. Corona”
I will not discuss what the prosecution and the defense had already argued in their closing arguments. Mr. President, esteemed colleagues. The impeachment is a political process, no a political assassination. An impeachment aspires to be a judicial proceeding that makes imperative that it sticks to judicial rules. An impeachment must ever uphold the dues process that no citizen high or low can be denied, that is why we wear judicial robe as you see, to listen, to ponder and decide like judge according to law.
“On Article II of the Articles of Impeachment against Hon. Chief Justice Renato C. Corona”
The lady justice wears a blindfold for a reason. She is to render judgment based on law and evidence, without regard to the circumstances and personalities of the parties involved — however controversial they may be. She is to dispense justice without fear or favor
We all took an oath to “do impartial justice according to the Constitution and the laws of the Philippines” and, like lady justice, we are bound to do so without fear or favor.
“On Article II of the Articles of Impeachment against Hon. Chief Justice Renato C. Corona”
The Constitution provides that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent, until the contrary is proved. The burden of proof is on the prosecution. How much proof is necessary? In other words, what is the standard of proof? I have adopted the very high standard of “overwhelming preponderance of evidence.” My standard is very high, because removal by conviction on impeachment is a stunning penalty, the ruin of a life.
“On Article II of the Articles of Impeachment against Hon. Chief Justice Renato C. Corona”
In the entire course of this impeachment trial, I have faced many difficult challenges to my own and the Court’s collective wisdom, our sense of justice and fairness, the delicate balancing act we must perform to ensure that we do not stray from the strictures of the Constitution, the law and our rules.
This trial began and unfolded against the backdrop of a highly charged and emotional atmosphere, acrimonious debate in and outside the confines of this Court, and a deep political fissure which threatened the stability of our democratic institutions.
