Defense lawyers: No constitutional crisis despite petition for SC to stop impeach trial

Lawyers of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona on Wednesday allays fears the petition for the Supreme Court to stop impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Renato Corona would result in a constitutional crisis. In a press conference at the Senate, defense lawyer Rico Paolo Quicho said the defense camp merely exercised their rights under the 1987 Philippine Constitution when they filed a petition for certiorari [or order by which a higher court reviews a case tried in a lower court] and prohibition before the high court. "Huwag tayo maniwala sa haka-haka na magkaka-constitutional crisis... Sa katunayan, ito ay pagrespeto sa Constitution at sa mga institusyong [ginawa sa ilalim] ng Constitution at pagdinig paghingi ng tulong sa mataas na hukuman, he said. Quicho said their filing of a petition against the impeachment proceedings does not necessarily mean na "nakikipagbanggaan" (going head-to-head with the impeachment court) ang kampo ni Corona. "May basehan naman po ang hinihingi namin sa Supreme Court," Quicho said. Apart from stopping the impeachment proceedings, the defense also asked the high court to stop the impeachment court from opening Corona's bank accounts. In its Articles of Impeachment, the prosecution camp accused Corona of failure to disclose properties in his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (Article II, Section 2.3); and his alleged amassing of ill-gotten wealth (Article II, Section 2.4). The impeachment court earlier struck down Section 2.4 of Article II, and the defense is now seeking to have Section 2.3 dropped as well. Meanwhile, another defense lawyer and spokesman Tranquil Salvador III, remained confident that their latest legal move would not cause a constitutional crisis. "Sana naman po ay hindi kasi naniniwala tayo sa separation of the three branches ofgovernment," he said. The lawyer assured that the executive, legislative, and judiciary all have the "capacity to work harmoniously under the rule of law and respect each other." "Ito po ay pagsubok sa ating mga institusyon," Salvador added. Asked what the defense's next move would be in case the impeachment court insists on proceeding with the trial even if the Surpeme Court would decide otherwise, Salvador said: "Sagutin natin iyan kapag nangyari na po." — LBG, GMA News