PCIJ to Corona camp: Don't 'ride' on our work

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) has formally opposed the subpoena request asking several of its staff to testify in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, saying the Senate should not allow the defense panel to "ride" on their journalistic work.

 

"The respondent [Corona], or any other party for that matter, should not be allowed to free ride on the efforts, work, and journalistic portfolio of the PCIJ and, in so doing, make it that party's private investigator, especially when such can be avoided through a little foresight and some hard work," the PCIJ said through oppositors PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas, multimedia director Ed Lingao, and research director Karol Anne Ilagan in an eight-page petition filed before the Senate on late Wednesday.

 

The defense panel had earlier requested the Senate to issue a subpoena for Mangahas and other PCIJ staff to testify during the trial and bring with them the following:

 

 

On Wednesday, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile already said that he will not act on the request.

'Large volume of materials' In expressing their opposition to the subpoena request, the PCIJ said such would require them to bring around 1,500 SALNs and related documents covering a span of 14 years.

 

"This is a very large volume of materials. The SALNs alone, stacked and measured from end to end, would stretch around 20 feet in all. This excludes as yet, a separate file of the request letters, follow-up letters, and replies from various government agencies that are SALN custodians that the PCIJ has gathered in the last 14 years," it said.

 

Further, it said that the SALNs would be of "doubtful revelance" because they are not original or certified true copies.

 

"The PCIJ cannot authenticate them since, as has been said, the PCIJ is not the official custodian of the SALNs. For these reasons, the request is unreasonable and oppressive," it said.

 

It likewise said that if the defense wanted copies of the SALN, these are very much available to the public.

 

"The PCIJ was able to secure from the official custodians upon request and payment of the appropriate fees. It might be more appropriate for the respondent to direct the request to these official custodians or do what the PCIJ did - go to the official custodians, make a request, pay the appropriate fees and, after securing the SALNs, do research and analysis," it said. Balancing of interests

 

Aside from this, PCIJ also asked the Senate to deny the request on the basis that there is a need to balance the interests of Corona and the PCIJ as members of the press.

 

"Considering the highly political circumstances that attend impeachment cases such as this one, and the adversarial nature of the proceedings, there is reasonable expectation of exposing the PCIJ and the oppositors to unfounded conclusions of partisanship if presented as a witness by either party. The possibility of reputational damage not only affects the PCIJ and the oppositors in their private capacities, but also  the press as a whole to which the PCIJ belongs," it said.

 

The prosecution had also opposed the request, saying the requested documents are "sweeping, general, and has no clear relevance to the case." They also listed the government officials whose SALNs the defense supposedly wants presented.

 

The PCIJ, for his part, also that only Corona's actions and state of mind are material to his guilt.

 

"The fact that there may have been others who benefitted from their improper conduct would do nothing to excuse the respondent. Thus, any evidence to establish such a defense would be irrelevant and therefore inadmissible," it said.

 

Corona is accused of not properly disclosing his SALN, among others. — RSJ, GMA News