By MIKHA FLORES
UPDATED AND CORRECTED: The designation of lawyer Al Parreño as elections commissioner is the latest and at least fifth government appointment given to the ranks of prosecutors in the impeachment trial of Renato Corona since the Senate convicted the Supreme Court chief justice on a 20-3 vote in May last year.
This is the second government position entrusted to Parreño, an IT expert, who was appointed to the board of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) two months after Corona’s conviction.
VERA Files earlier wrongly reported that Parreño was the fourth and latest government appointee among the prosecutors. (The headline has been updated and corrected as well—Ed.)
Besides Parreño, at least three impeachment prosecutors are now serving the Aquino administration: Joseph Emilio Abaya, Arlene ‘Kaka’ Bag-ao and Renato Samonte Jr.
Abaya was appointed Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) in August 2012. He was the representative of the 1st district of Cavite when he replaced Manuel Roxas at the DOTC.
Bag-ao, then a representative of Akbayan party-list, was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III as Legislative Liasion Officer or congressional caretaker of Dinagat Islands. She is currently running for Congress in Dinagat under Aquino’s Liberal Party.
Bag-ao’s appointment, a first of its kind, came after incumbent representative Ruben Ecleo Jr. was dropped from the 15th Congress after the Sandiganbayan upheld his conviction on graft.
Samonte, a veteran trial lawyer from the private sector, was appointed Chief Provincial Prosecutor of Bulacan last October in a move that drew criticism from government prosecutors who preferred a career official to an “outsider”.
At the impeachment trial, Samonte was noted for his cross-examination of former Manila Mayor Joselito Atienza on the sale of the Basa-Guidote property in Manila.
Corona’s conviction has been hailed as a major step in the Aquino government’s anti-corruption campaign.
Some of Aquino’s allies in Congress who pushed for his impeachment are running for re-election under the LP banner. They are Niel Tupas Jr., Raul Daza, and Reynaldo Umali.
Tupas is seeking another term as congressman for the 5th district of Iloilo while Daza is running as representative of the 1st district of Northern Samar; Umali is seeking a fresh mandate as congressman from the 2nd district of Oriental Mindoro.
The other prosecutors in the impeachment who are running in the May 13 polls are:
Giorgidi Aggabao, a reelectionist for the 4th district of Isabela (Nationalist People’s Coalition)
Elpidio Barzaga, Jr., a reelectionist for the lone district of Dasmariñas, Cavite (National Unity Party)
Neri Colmenares, a reelectionist as one of the nominees of Bayan Muna Party-list
President of the National Union of People’s Lawyers
Rodolfo Fariñas, a reelectionist for the 1st district of Ilocos Norte (Nacionalista Party)
Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, a reelectionist for the 6th district of Pangasinan
Sherwin Tugna, a reelectionist as one of the nominees for Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Party-list
More than 50 private lawyers joined the 11-member prosecution team from the House of Representatives during the impeachment trial of Corona. Abaya served as manager of the prosecution. (With additional research by Ace Ilagan)
(Ace Ilagan is a journalism student of the University of the Philippines who is doing research for VERA Files as part of her internship.)