Senate reprimands Corona lawyer who accused Palace of bribery

The Senate, sitting as the impeachment court, on Tuesday reprimanded defense counsel Jose Roy III for claiming last month that Malacañang dangled a P100-million bribe for each senator-judge in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.   Roy was earlier cited for contempt for refusing to disclose the source of the defense’s information and to identify the senator-judges whom he said were approached by Malacañang.   "Atty. Roy is hereby reprimanded for not being candid and for taking lightly his commitment to the court by refusing to give the required information. This court must assert its dignity and honor in this proceedings," said Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding officer of the impeachment court, during the day's trial. "I accept, but..."   Roy, for his part, said they accept the decision, but added that they still stand by their actions.   "We stand by our actions. I accept your judgment and I thank you for sparing the [other] defense counsel. It is my privilege to serve the penalty in behalf of the defense counsel. I honor the judgment of the court and we all stand reprimanded and we shall be guided accordingly," he said during the trial.   At a press conference last February, the defense panel said it had received information that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. had urged senator-judges not to honor the Supreme Court order stopping them from examining Corona's dollar accounts.    Roy said Malacañang was even allotting P100 million for the "soft" projects of each senator-judge from the state's savings.   Ochoa and several senators have denied the accusation.   Serious implication   Enrile said the implication of Roy’s statement “is rather serious because it in effect suggests that this court could be paid in making a decision and I do not think that it is a proper thing even to think about this impeachment court.”   "We maybe politicians but we have our integrity and honor that we have earned over time.  The court would like to remind and sternly warn the parties that it will not tolerate any further act which would cause any disrespect to the court or any of its senator-judges," he added.   Enrile said reprimand carries a heavier weight than an admonition, which was imposed earlier on a prosecution lawyer who covered his ears while Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago was scolding the prosecution. - KBK, GMA News