Corona lawyers move to have Drilon removed from trial

(UPDATED 9:40 p.m.) - The lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona on Thursday moved to have Senator Franklin Drilon removed from the impeachment trial for allegedly being an "ally" of the prosecution panel. “It is respectfully prayed that this Motion to Inhibit be calendared for hearing…[for the] inhibition or disqualification of Senator-judge Franklin M. Drilon,” the defense lawyer said in their motion submitted to the Senate, which is sitting as the impeachment court. The motion was signed by retired Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas, the lead defense counsel; Jose Roy III, and Dennis Manalo. “It appears... that the Prosecution found an ally in Senator-judge Drilon,” the defense panel said. The defense panel claimed that the first witness, Enriqueta Vidal, clerk of court of the Supreme Court, would not be able to turn over Corona's Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) from 2002-2010 to the Senate without Drilon's intervention. “What cannot be denied, however, is that the interference and pressure exerted by Senator Judge Drilon against Atty. Vidal resulted in the production of the SALNs of CJ Corona, which the prosecution was unable to accomplish on its own,” the defense panel said. Vidal, who was a witness for the prosecution pane, earlier resisted to hand over Corona's SALNs to the Senate, saying the Supreme Court had not allowed her to do so. The defense panel also cited that Drilon once again "displayed his partiality" when he asked questions regarding Corona being the "beneficial owner" of his daughter’s property. “At the next session, Senator Judge Drilon again displayed his partiality by directly causing the introduction of evidence from a document intended to cast doubts on the role Chief Justice about the acquisition of property by his daughter. As it turns out, CJ Corona acted as the attorney-in-fact in the transaction.” The property was owned by Charina Corona, a physical therapist in the United States. “Senator Judge Drilon, made sure to highlight this fact, as if to suggest that Corona was the beneficial owner of the property. This rusely was cleverly done,” the defense added. The defense panel noted that Drilon acted like cross-examining a witness beyond his task as senator judge. “In open court Senator Judge Drilon began to propound questions more akin to cross-examination and loaded with veiled threats, securing for the Prosecution what they failed to do by themselves. It must be stressed that the questions propounded by Senator Judge Drilon sought to elicit the very same responses as the Private Prosecutor attempted to obtain during his conduct of the direct testimony,” the defense panel said. “In sum, it was Senator Judge Drilon who carried on the cudgels for the Prosecution and accomplished what they failed to do,” theyl added. In an interview, Roy said if the Senate will not rule in favor of their motion, they may bring the matter to the Supreme Court. Asked if seeking the Supreme Court will still be an option, Roy said: “Of course, 'yan ay available.” “In fact, kung napansin niyo kanina, ano ba ang pinag-uusapan ng korte kanina bago tayo nagpunta sa testimony? Pinag-uusapan  'yung mga ruling ng Supreme Court,” he added. - VVP/KBK, GMA News