VIDEO roundup of the first day of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona’s impeachment trial by the Senate serving as impeachment court. All videos were posted by ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) on YouTube. Not available was defense counsel Eduardo de los Angeles’ opening statement.
Reacting to Corona’s accusations that three people were colluding to oust him from office, Malacanang, through presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, issued the following statement:
The man on the dock is the Chief Justice. He is there, impeached and undergoing trial, because of his behavior. He has no one to blame for this but himself. For the Chief Justice to allege conspiracy is simply a desperate ploy to deflect attention from the subject at hand: himself.
Mr. Corona’s conspiracy theory ignores reality and plain facts. The Department of Agrarian Reform has categorically stated that the administration has pushed for, and argued, before the Supreme Court, the distribution of land to tenants in Hacienda Luisita. His other allegations, concerning the President’s running mate and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, go beyond being merely undignified—they are slanderous attacks for the purpose of deflecting attention. No Chief Justice has ever demeaned himself by the gutter language he used this morning.
The historic trial of the Chief Justice has begun. We call on all citizens to follow the proceedings, as the Senate conducts its duty to hear and weigh the evidence. The trial will bring daylight where there used to be darkness: shedding light on actions and actuations of the Chief Justice. The truth will come out. We believe that the truth will set the judiciary free.