Corona's petition vs trial goes to PNoy's latest appointee to SC

Chief Justice Renato Corona on Tuesday failed anew to secure a temporary restraining order from his colleagues in the Supreme Court in his bid to stop the Senate from proceeding with his impeachment trial.   Instead, the high court, during its regular en banc session, noted the supplemental petition filed by Corona’s lawyers seeking to reinforce their bid to stop the trial on the ground that some senator-judges have lost the “cold neutrality of an impartial judge.”   The Supreme Court also assigned Corona’s petition to Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, President Benigno Aquino III’s recent appointee to the Supreme Court.   Bernabe was not present when the case was assigned to her as she is in Bali, Indonesia attending the ASEAN Law Association, according to her office. She was appointed to the high court September last year. Aquino has been very critical of Corona, accusing him of being partial to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It was Arroyo who appointed Corona to the Supreme Court in 2002, and as chief justice in 2010 shortly before her term ended.   As member-in-charge, Bernabe will make a recommendation on the preliminary reliefs sought by Corona, including the issuance of a TRO on the trial for alleged violation of petitioner’s right to due process.   Bernabe was also the justice-in-charge in the petition filed by the Philippines Savings Bank (PSBank) seeking to stop the disclosure of Corona’s foreign currency deposits (FCD).   In PSBank’s petition, Bernabe were among the five justices who voted against the issuance of TRO enjoining the Senate from implementing its subpoena on Corona’s dollar account records.   Last week, a TRO was granted by the Court on PSBank’s petition after the Senate issued a subpoena aimed at opening Corona’s dollar bank accounts.   The Supreme Court has earlier deferred ruling on Corona’s petition to stop the trial and also to stop the scrutiny of his dollar accounts. Instead, it ordered respondents Senate and the House prosecution panel to submit their respective comments within 10 days. - KBK, GMA News