Corona defense lawyer denies pressure from Malacañang

Former Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas, the head of the defense panel in Chief Justice Renato Corona's impeachment trial, denied on Monday a newspaper report quoting him as saying Malacañang is pressuring him to quit the defense panel.   Cuevas, 83, insisted he did not say anything about alleged pressure from the Palace, which is supporting the removal of Corona from office.   "Walang pressure ang Malacañang sa akin, walang pinapadalang tao, di totoo yan, walang katotohanan yan," Cuevas said in an interview over radio dzBB.   When asked if a supposed lawyer-emissary approached him to relay the supposed Palace message, Cuevas said, "wala po, wala po." Message from Malacañang?   A report on the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sunday said Cuevas allegedly claimed that he "was being asked to leave the defense panel in exchange for the withdrawal of the criminal case against Magtanggol Gatdula, the recently sacked director of the National Bureau of Investigation." The Inquirer noted that Cuevas was a "legal counsel of the influential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), of which Gatdula is also a member. Gatdula has been implicated in the alleged kidnapping of an undocumented Japanese woman." However, in the interview with radio dzBB on Monday, Cuevas said: "Wala. Hindi namin napagusapan yan. Walang katotohanan yan, (kung meron) e di hindi na ako nagpa-interview."   Cuevas also said he was not a major player that would deserve such pressure.   "Hindi naman ako ganoon kaiimportante... sabagay that's doing me honor pero walang katotohanan yan," he said.   Cuevas also denied the report that he was harassed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).   Meanwhile, Cuevas downplayed the prosecution's plan to have 100 witnesses against Corona.   "Hindi naman paramihan ng saksi yan. Ano ibig sabihin niyan maghaharap kami ng 200 para manalo?" he said. Corona's case

• partiality and subservience in cases involving the Arroyo administration;
• failure to disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN);
• issuance of flip-flopping decisions in final and executory cases;
• issuance of the “status quo ante” order against the House of Representatives in the case concerning the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez;
• decision in favor of gerrymandering in the cases involving 16 newly-created cities, and the promotion of Dinagat Island into a province;
• improper creation of the SC ethics committee
• granting temporary restraining order in favor of former President Arroyo; and
• failure and refusal to account for the Judicial Development Fund (JDF) and special allowance for the judiciary collections.