Lawyer asks impeachment court to cite House prosec for contempt

A lawyer on Monday asked the Senate sitting as an impeachment court to cite the House prosecution team for  contempt after they revealed evidence against Chief Justice Renato Corona outside the impeachment trial.

 

In a six-page motion, lawyer Fernando Perito said members of the prosecution led by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. should be cited for indirect contempt for presenting in a press conference the deed of sale of Corona's condominium unit in The Bellagio in Taguig.

 

Tupas, who alleged that it was uncertain whether Corona declared the property in his statement of assets, liability, and net worth, had said the deed of sale would be included in the evidence against Corona.

 

"When the Senate took over on the impeachment, the complainants and their brilliant prosecutors should stop throwing muds in public against their victim," Perito said in his motion.

 

Perito said the prosecution violated Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, which states that "the Presiding Officer and the Members of the Senate shall refrain from making any comments and disclosures in public pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial."

 

"The same shall likewise apply to the prosecutors, to the person impeached, and to their respective counsel and witnesses," said the rules.

 

Perito told Senate reporters that he filed the motion in his individual capacity as a lawyer.

 

He said he is not connected with Corona's defense panel.

 

Corona had earlier admitted in his Answer to the impeachment complaint that he and his wife Cristina bought a condominium unit at the Bellagio which they paid on installment basis. The Senate sitting as an impeachment court will resume session next week, Jan. 16. The trial proper, however, is expected to commence at a later date. — RSJ, GMA News