By JOSEPH HOLANDES
Interaksyon.com
CHIEF defense counsel former Justice Serafin Cuevas said Tuesday he was surprised by the number of senator-judges who voted to convict impeached Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona.
“Hope springs eternal,” he said in a chance interview minutes before Day 44 of the the Senate impeachment trial began.
“We put up a good fight, legally and so on with regards to the law, with regards to evidence,” Cuevas said.” We are very much optimistic in saying that we will get an acquittal.”
Cuevas admitted that he had spoken with Corona hours before the scheduled voting of the impeachment court Tuesday afternoon. The defense lawyer refused to say what their next move is should a conviction be handed down to Corona. Earlier, Cuevas said they might elevate the court’s decision to the Supreme Court.
The chief defense lawyer said that Corona gave it to his lawyers on their next move.
“He’s beleaguered, wala sya sa maayos na disposisyon (He could not make a proper decision),” Cuevas said.
Cuevas hinted that they are at a disadvantage in the proceedings especially when politics was put into play.
“Dehado kaming mga abogado sa political part, we were trained along legal lines…” he added.
Defense lawyer Dennis Manalo said they are praying for an acquittal and that the entire defense team is in full force for the historic decision.
“We are all lawyers, we are used to this,” he said.