Defense: Cuevas to skip Corona trial for a few days due to 'vertigo'

Retired Justice Serafin Cuevas, the lead defense counsel in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, will not be able to attend the proceedings in the Senate for the next few days due to health reasons.   Defense spokesperson Jose "Judd" Roy III told reporters in a chance interview Tuesday that the 83-year-old Cuevas is still suffering from vertigo.   Roy said Cuevas' physicians have advised him to rest “for several days."   "If he is not comfortable for long periods [of time], then we don't want him to struggle," Roy said.   Roy clarified however that Cuevas' condition was not caused by the stress from the impeachment trial. He said Cuevas' vertigo was "diet-related."   "Minsan din kasi we are all hungry, kaso dahil nasa loob kami lahat [ng session hall], nakakalimutan kumain," he said.   Though not physically present in court, Cuevas closely follows the developments in the trial over the television, Roy added.    "Minsan nga kapag may mga nagtatanong na, binabato niya yung TV," Roy said in jest.   Roy also said Cuevas is satisfied with the way other defense counsel have been presenting witnesses and answering questions from senator-judges.   Cuevas, for the first time since the trial started on Jan. 16, skipped the impeachment hearing on Monday. — Mark D. Merueñas/KBK, GMA News