Miriam: Senators can be held liable for 'unjust' judgment in Corona trial

Senators can be held liable for rendering an "unjust" judgment during former Chief Justice Renato Corona's impeachment trial if they indeed voted for the magistrate's conviction for extra funds.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago made this statement amid controversies surrounding the release of funds under the government's Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) to almost all senators who voted for Corona's conviction months after his trial concluded in May last year.

"There is a reasonable ground for that (verdict) to be revisited if it was a result of corruption. Rendering unjust judgment is a crime," Santiago told reporters on Friday afternoon.

She however said that the ousted chief justice can no longer ask for a mistrial.

"The judges will be the same as those who adjudicated him as guilty in the first plac. You cannot expect a motion for reconsideration to prosper at this time," Santiago, who voted for Corona's acquittal, said.

In May last year, 20 senators acting as judges in Corona's impeachment trial convicted the magistrate for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.

Last week, Senator Jinggoy Estrada bared he and other senators who favored Corona's ouster received P50 million in additional funds a few months after the impeachment trial.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad has however maintained that the funds, sourced from the DAP, were neither bribes nor incentives. He said these funds were released to address sluggish government spending in 2011. -- KBK, GMA News