No Corona direct exam to avoid stress

By MARK MERUEÑAS, GMA News

Published May 25, 2012 2:12pm

(Updated 3:36 p.m.) - Defense lawyers no longer subjected Chief Justice Renato Corona to a direct examination to avoid "stressing" him out anew on his second day on the witness stand.

During the 42nd day of the Corona impeachment trial, lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas said the defense was adopting as their direct examination Corona's three-hour opening statement last Tuesday.

"We find it unnecessary to conduct direct examination. We are through with the direct," said Cuevas.

"We are not adding to that anymore," he added.

Hours before the hearing started, defense lawyers had already said they have no plans on conducting additional direct examination on Corona.

"I don't think so," was Corona's defense lawyer Ramon Esguerra's reply when asked if there will be a direct examination.

"We don't want him to be in another stressful situation so we'll try to avoid as much as possible a situation like that," Esguerra added. No cross-examination too The prosecution on Friday announced that they will no longer cross-examine the chief magistrate due to his health condition.

“In light of this condition, prosecution will no longer cross-examine,” private prosecutor Mario Bautista said during the Friday trial.

“We wish you a speedy recovery,” he added.

In a press briefing on Friday, prosecution spokesperson and Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo said, “We do not want to exacerbate his physical condition.”

“We don’t want to risk na may mangyari kay chief justice [during the cross-examination],” he said, citing that Corona’s testimony last Tuesday was “damaging to the defense kaysa advantageous.” –with Rouchelle R. Dinglasan/KG, GMA News

Tags: coronaimpeachment, renatocorona