Chief Justice Corona free to leave RP?

Now that the Senate impeachment court has dispensed a very strong verdict against Chief Justice Corona, and there is still no pending case against him, surely, Corona has the right to leave this country, right?


Wrong, that is, if President Aquino is to be asked.


President Aquino today just announced his plan of charging Corona with a crime. He says that whoever did a crime is liable to the Filipino People.


The question that is toying in my mind right now--what if Corona decides to leave for Spain tomorrow, will this administration prevent him like what it did to former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?


There will be a very serious repercussion if Aquino administration hinders or prevents the Coronas from leaving the country.


You should not beat or kick a dying man. Corona has accepted his fate. Fact is, Corona would have appealed and that would have sparked a constitutional crisis. Preventing him from leaving the country will surely backfire and will justify what Corona alleged in the start of this impeachment teledrama--that this administration's motivation is purely personal.

A "weak" guilty verdict could spark constitutional crisis

Tomorrow, Senator-judges will render its judgment on Corona. If found guilty, Corona's lead counsel Serafin Cuevas said, they will appeal his case before the Supreme Court.


The Constitution is silent on whether impeachment cases are appealable. If it is, then, they should file a reconsideration or immediately direct it to the Supreme Court, being the sole arbiter of legal controversies. Their cause of action? The silence of the SALN law insofar as foreign dollar deposits are concerned. 


In the eyes of the defense, Corona is innocent because he just exercised an option of not disclosing his foreign bank deposits due to the Foreign Bank Deposits Law. No one can say that he did so out of ignorance---he did so out of compliance of a special law. When there is doubt as to the legality of an organic law, then, the rules of special law will apply. Special laws, which are deprived from organic laws, are specific. 


So, there. What this means is, we wasted 40 plus days listening to arguments ad inifinitum and eventually, everything will boil down to just one event---an appeal before the very court where Corona holds office. 


Should Cuevas does, indeed, file such a case, then, impeachment cases against Supreme Court justices or any other posts, like the President, will always go to the Supreme Court for final arbitration. 


This also means that the Senate is actually not the highest court when it comes to impeachments--it is just an ordinary court. 


The Supreme Court will either sit this one out and wait for the termination of Corona's term or render a special judgement favoring Corona. This is possible given these circumstances.

Chief Justice Corona's walkout is not a technicality

One of the most cruel of jokes that people passed around during yesterday's classic "walkout" of Chief Justice Corona at the Senate Impeachment trial was all about being sick. Just like what Erap did during his own trial and later incarceration, when he suddenly got operated on in the knee, or that of Gloria having spine troubles and colitis, it is now the turn of Corona to reportedly show how sick he is, shortly after his ex-Supreme Court colleague and now Ombudsman Morales exposed his alleged 82 bank accounts.


Corona right now has been transferred to the ICU--a frequent refuge of those previously accused of stealing the people's money and getting away with it. Erap had his time there, so did Gloria. Many of those accused during the pre-need firms scandals also took refuge in the ICU of, you guess, St Luke's ICU. This time, it's the Medical City.


The most famous patient was this alleged young murderer who suddenly got himself sick when  jail-time was mentioned. Doctors eventually exposed him as a fraud and he was immediately hauled to Bicutan. 


A former governor also spent his time in a hospital instead of Muntinlupa. Had not someone exposed what he was doing there, he would have stayed there for a long time. 


Same case for this Korean mafia leader who escaped last Christmas, when he himself spent the rest of his jail time in a posh St. Luke's hospital suite. He was so sick, he managed to catch a plane and escaped Philippine jurisdiction, with his immigration guards feigning innocence. This is now becoming the cono's alibi---spending time in a hospital instead of suffering from the sweltering heat of a prison cell. 


IN Corona's case, however, it is evident that he really got sick yesterday. He's diabetic. Of course, a diabetic will suffer complications if he failed to eat. Defense lawyers were quick to the draw, saying that Corona suffered a drop in his sugar (?) levels and he escaped the clutches of the Senate on a wheelchair.


No doubt--Corona is sick. Cruel for people to suggest that yesterday's walkout scene was part of the defense. As I wrote previously, the defense should not win through a technicality, no. A win by technicality is not an option, since this will not solve the image problems of the Chief Justice. 


The people should be convinced he did nothing wrong. That those monies which he kept in those accounts came from legitimate sources and the reason why it was never reported was the interpretation of the Chief Justice that these were all kept confidential and it is entirely legal for someone not to report it in his SALN.


Meaning, the alibi is still a legal technicality, since what the Chief Justice said yesterday was he did not report all these bank accounts simply because he interpreted the law to mean that  it is up to the filer to consider disclosure or not. 


What the Learned Chief Justice forgot was, the intention of the law on SALN should have been his paramount consideration when he filed his SALN. The spirit of that law requires every government official to disclose his assets and liabilities, among those assets are his bank accounts.


When I was still working for government, I was asked to disclose every single thing I owned. This includes bank accounts. I really doubt it if the Chief Justice thought that the same SALN form I filled up was entirely different from his. 


Anyway, Chief Justice Corona should summon all his remaining strength and face the impeachment trial. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile gave his defense panel up to today to produce the Chief Justice so that he be made to answer several questions from the prosecution. 


There are insinuations that yesterday's appearance was surely the last, which I think, that dramatic walkout (which several Senate staffers described as a failed escape) harmed the CJ more than benefitted him. 


People don't like cowards or pretentious heroes. If the CJ did err, he must admit it. The Filipino Public will eventually understand and will forgive him. He must, however, be made accountable to the very thing the CJ worshipped throughout his life---the law. 

Renato Corona, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines

He sits alone in his mahogany dining table, eating crispy chicken skin, when we left him. An hour before, he looked frail and weak, like he’s not eaten in weeks. Though he cast an imposing figure, his green barong cannot hide one singular fact—the Chief Justice has lost weight. He silently limbers around his office, which looks ordinary for a distinguished lawyer like him, except that, at the middle of this office, bears the mighty Seal of the Supreme Court. That seal is above his black leather chair and table. Unlike any other though, instead of sofa seats, his dining table fronts his office table. I wonder how many people have eaten in that table, which can easily dine ten people at one time. And I wonder how many times the Chief Justice has shared his passion for lechong manok, and of course, crispy chicken skin.

This office does not look like a place for a beleaguered man, I told myself, as I perused hundreds of books which adorn his office. Months ago, he was pilloried by his counterpart and accused of being a hindrance to this government’s alleged “tuwid na daan”. He has since then, been kicked, punched, and spit at his face, his family threatened and his very self exposed nakedly for all the whole world to see.

Any Batangueno worth his worth would have gotten his bolo or even cocked his gun. Any lesser man would have gotten one of his 31 guns in his armoury and shoot the lights off his detractors, he being a former straight shooter like his counterpart. But no.

Renato Corona, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, is no butangero. He does not lose his cool. Fact is, he’s even proud of telling people that he rarely loses his composure. “Ever since this happened”, says Corona, “ I have never thought of taking revenge. Ask my wife. Ask my kids. There has never been an instance where I thought evil against any man. I was not raised by my parents to be vengeful, oh no. I am proud of being a Corona. I am proud of my family’s legacy to this country.”

“ When I was young, I used to love guns. I was a gun shooter. I competed in several competitions. I had a passion for it. However, when I aged, the passion for practical shooting hit me less and less. Now, I don’t love it anymore. “

What had happened that transformed this man, from a gun lover to an advocate of peace? Without battling an eyelash, Corona says, it is his love for the law. And God. 

Ever since he was a kid, Renato Corona had always aspired to be a lawyer. His forebears were land surveyors. He was raised comfortably by his parents. Of course, he’s not a Cojuangco, but he was never the man Malacanang pictured him to be---a poor, struggling one who only enriched himself when he entered public service.

“ I am proud of my heritage. I am proud of the service my forebears brought to this country. Fact is, go to Mandaluyong, and you’ll find a street named after my grandfather.”

Corona was equally proud of his wife, Cristina Basa. He shared with us, his wife’s family heritage. Her great grandfather, Jose Maria Basa, was the financier of the 1896 Revolution. Prior to Bonifacio, Basa was the Katipunan Supremo. When the Spaniards discovered the revolt, Basa was one of those who were exiled abroad, and had to surrender several thousand hectares of his property to the state. Yet, he never complained. Basa was a patriot, says Corona, and he’s proud that that same blood runs through the veins of his lovely wife.

When someone asked why the Basas now want his head, Corona just shrugs and says that that was not his fight. The Basas and the Guidotes had that fight long ago, and he was just dragged into it because he’s Cristina’s husband. The Basas suspected that he used or is using his vast network to influence the cases. Corona denies any allegation, saying that if he did, those cases pending before the courts of Manila would have been resolved a long time ago.

He, Renato Corona, is such a man, a man of integrity and character. He does not lose his temper. He claims never to have lifted a finger against any man. Yet, like any other, he also feels bad against some, even his closest of friends, but never ever thought of using his powers to get back at them.

When I asked him about Associate Justice Antonio Carpio if they are still buddies, Corona had this to say: “ No, we are not anymore buddies. We are just civil to each other. Each member of this court is learned, each civilized. I don’t harbour any grudge against any of them. Of course, I feel bad, but feelings aside, I don’t feel revenge.”

Corona and Carpio, many of my lawyer friends say, were the best of friends. They both served during the time of former president Fidel Valdes Ramos, Carpio being appointed as Chief Legal Counsel while Corona served as a Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Concerns. It was during the time of Ramos that both started their careers in public service and both flourished.

Sick with tonsilitis but I'm a fool if I'll pass
this chance to interview the controversial
Chief Justice

Several close in associates say that the two became estranged shortly after an internal investigation conducted by Malacanang found one of them guilty of using his influence to affect the Fraport case. That Fraport case was the one which  broke the strong ties of Carpio and Corona. Both of these gentlemen respected each other, especially Corona who even considered Carpio as a brother. After Fraport and that very public severing of ties between Carpio’s law firm and the Arroyo administration, Corona and Carpio had rarely spoken to each other.

Was Fraport really the cause behind these latest efforts to dislodge Corona from his seat as Chief Justice? As punishment, the Arroyos reportedly vowed to block Carpio’s ascension to the Chief Justice seat, something which, when I asked Corona about, he was tight lipped. He says:

“ Even if that happened, no one would corroborate that. You know, in government, and I have stayed for so long in government, these things, even if it did happen, no one would be brave enough to admit that it did happen.”

So, why is he being castigated by this administration which is reportedly very close to the Firm, that law office founded by Carpio in 1981?

Corona propounded four reasons, one of which is the oft-repeated line of Hacienda Luisita. The other, he says, is the fear of a close Aquino buddy that he will influence the pending electoral case before the Supreme Court questioning the election of the Vice President and third, he is perceived to be a stumbling block to the interests of some groups which he did not identify. And the fourth, he’s perceived closeness to the former dispensation.

“ The fourth one is the one that truly troubles me. I am just being dragged into this mess. They have a beef against the former administration, why drag me into it? Probably, if only some people there in Malacanang really knows me, they will not consider me an enemy. I am just collateral damage here, “ says Corona who was appointed by former president and now suspect in numerous criminal cases, Gloria Arroyo.

(Part II: Issues and the Shakedown")

Chief Justice Renato Corona interviewed by NPR

I had a chance to interview Chief Justice Renato Corona. In the interest of fairness, I shall print here his responses to many critical issues which affects our country today. 


I was invited last night by my colleagues in the blogging community and inspite being sick (I was down with tonsilitis for the whole day), I tried to honor my word and attended the news briefing. 


Expect some revelations in this interview. There were so many things which Corona clarified during the interview and in the interests of fairness, I shall print them here. 


Wait for this explosive series, only here at New Philippine Revolution!

Self-Coup being hatched by palace insiders?

This is the last of three revelatory pieces about this issue on the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona. 


Don't be fooled--yes, Corona has his own sins to account before the Filipino People and if this trial is all about morality, Corona probably has failed to prove his innocence. However, if the Palace plan is true, that Carpio is to be appointed as his replacement, then, the cure is worse than the perceived problem of a Chief Justice whose loyalties, according to Malacanang, lie with the previous dispensation.


Carpio's ascension to the Highest judicial post will cement the CVC's position as the biggest and most influential law firm in this country. With so many clients having so many cases filed before the Highest Tribunal, a Carpio-led Supreme Court will further damage the integrity of this institution. If you notice, ever since Carpio ascended this Court, there has been a slew of flip-flopping incidents, merely of construing the law not based on its spirit nor of judicial experience, but dispensing cases based on frivolous rationale that favors Big Business interests.  Carpio enjoys a higher rating of trust than Corona because of PR. Corona's perceived closeness with the Arroyos is like a curse. What the public doesn't know is the fact that Corona knows what the Carpio gang is planning, being his former colleagues, and Corona believes that a Carpio-led Court would actually be detrimental to the entire legal community.


The solution is radical---ask both gentlemen to resign or retire. Then, make the appointment of the Chief Justice open to the public. Ask the academe and civil society to take part in choosing the next Chief Justice. If this is not accomplished, then, these things which were revealed to me by an old legal practitioner are entirely validated. 


What is disturbing about these revelations is the fact that some palace insiders are actually trying to invite mischief in the equation. Malacanang wants to solve its problems thru extra-constitutional means. A palace source, very close to this writer, says that this administration actually wants Corona's group to move against Malacanang thru a coup so that Aquino would be able to dissolve government and replace it with a more favorable one. The simple reason is try to circumvent the Constitution, because a revolutionary government is the most practical way of changing the Charter without going thru the tedious process now stated in the organic law.


Malacanang is inviting mischief, specifically to equip it of extra-constitutional powers. The plan of creating a revolutionary government is one of the options being toyed upon by Aquino. This is actually okey if Aquino's plan is really to cleanse the government. But, we know better. 


This is entirely a power struggle not in the name of the Filipino People but in the name of the Firm. Don't be fooled by propaganda. Yes, Corona has his sins. He needs to explain so many things. That's why he needs to be replaced. Nonetheless, the cure that the Palace wants is unacceptable. 


Hence the call--to normalize the situation, the call should be the resignation of Corona and Carpio. If Malacanang really wants change, it should also ask Carpio to resign. 

Fraport, Corona and Carpio and the Impeachment

The Fraport deal was just one of many projects undertaken by the Firm. Yet, this one was the one which broke the camel's back so to speak. Many in the industry says this Firm earned double--they got money from their client and they also tried to get at least $ 20 million from Fraport. Worst, they were perceived to be playing both sides.


That is the worst sin ever committed by a legal practitioner. 


Back then, Executive secretary Renato Corona was in a quandary. He is very close to Antonio Carpio, one of the names who built CVC Law and Pancho Villaraza. They both came from Ateneo. They are both ambitious and tenacious. They want to be on top. 


Corona felt that he has to side with Right, and the right thing to do back then was to isolate the Arroyo administration from the Firm. The severage of ties between the Arroyos and the CVC partners were publicly announced. What the public perceived back then was the Firm was severing its ties because of the numerous anomalies entered into by the palace. The resignation of Avelino Cruz as defense secretary was perceived to be an attempt by the Firm to distance itself from alleged anomalous AFP deals. The truth is, it was the Fraport deal that really caused the rift between the Arroyos and the Firm.


The Firm's tentacles were really so deeply entrenched within the Philippine bureaucracy that several of Arroyo's closest associates made that move to distance themselves from the unpopular regime. The Firm, after distancing itself from Arroyo, really never actually stopped dealing with the regime. Some of them stayed with Arroyo, acting like close friends but in truth, really snooping for information that the Firm could use against the First Couple.


Corona was hurt when this thing happened but because he was very close to Gloria Arroyo, he did not abandon the regime. Corona stayed put, mindful even of the decision of the Arroyos and several people about the Firm and Carpio.


The decision for Corona to become Chief Justice was actually accomplished to spite Carpio. If Corona serves the entire length of his term as Chief Justice, that will only give Carpio several months before he himself retires from government service.


This is why several administration people want a term-sharing agreement between Corona and Carpio. If Corona manages to survive this and stay on as Chief Justice, and eventually the palace appoints Carpio as his replacement, Carpio only has a few months to stay as Chief Justice before he himself retires from the service. This will not serve the interests of Malacanang. 


Why? Several cases are still pending before the Supreme Court. An adversarial court will affect most of these cases, specifically those involving several personalities within the Aquino administration. 


Likewise, several cases involving the Cojuangcos are also pending before the Court. 


Corona is really in a tight fix. If the impeachment court decides to vote now, he will face defeat. The Firm has very strong ties with several Senators. 


Yes, Corona has his sins, but these pale in comparison with those committed by his adversaries. Worse, the people whom the palace wants to install in the Supreme Court owe their allegiance not to the Filipino People, but to the Firm. 


If, at all, President Aquino really want reforming the judiciary, he may probably just call for the resignation of all sitting justices and make the appointment of justices be the duty of a collegial body, composed of civil society, people's organisations, and legal bodies, and not a prerogative of Malacanang. 


Aquino's fate also hangs in the balance here. If he succeeds on toppling Corona, and appoints Carpio as his replacement, he risks a revolt here. 

The Corona-Carpio Squabble Started Because of Fraport

"It's all about the money", says a newly met friend who happens to be very close and very intimate with two great and opposing powers in the Judiciary---the impeached Chief Justice and his known rival, Justice Antonio Carpio. I will not reveal his name, nor the circumstances of our meeting except to say that he is one man out to redeem his soul. He, an Atenean, is a man who wants to correct the wrongs of the past and help this country move forward.


Shortly after talking to him, it dawned upon me that any successful revolution requires one singular mission---to rid the entire system of malevolent legal minds who condon evil acts and exercises none of the morality that makes the law majestic in the eyes of the people.

President Aquino is right at one point and wrong at another--yes, it is entirely true and necessary for those who want change to get rid of misfits in the judiciary. But, if this campaign of Aquino's is solely due to a goal to get rid of people within the judiciary who does not ascribe nor pay homage to Aquino's most preferred law firm, then, Aquino's straight path is as crooked as another's.

Understanding what is happening right now in the judiciary requires an earlier review of what had happened to the triumvirate that built the CVC--or what is known as the Carpio, Villaraza and Cruz Law Offices (now known as Villaraza, Cruz Marcelo and Angcangco). If Marcos has his ACCRALAW (Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices), the new powers who supplanted him, has theirs--CVC Law.


In every administration in this country, there is always a law firm behind it, dominating the scenes, influencing policy especially appointments in government. Fact is, the practice of law in the Philippines is not just about solving crimes or punishing the guilty, but it is more of lobbying, especially in corporate law. 


During the turbulent Marcos years, the ACCRALAW dominated the scene by influencing the former dictators' actions especially appointments. ACCRA was the most sought-after law firm during that time because of its strong reputation as Marcos legal buddies.


Marcos was deposed, but ACCRALAW survived and even flourished during the post-Marcos era. ACCRA produced some of the best Senators around, including one, Senator Ed Angara. ACCRA eventually returned to what its original mission statement is--to be the country's top law firm, not the country's top political operators.


That enviable role, of being political operators and lobbyists, shifted from ACCRA law to CVC law, the firm built by several lawyers who started their careers at ACCRA.


In the 1980, a few years before EDSA 1, some lawyers from ACCRA founded CVC. The CVC had respectable clients back then, but they mattered little compared with other law firms. The firm had to wait for 1992 to become what it wants--the most sought after law firm in the country.


Carpio, one of the senior partners, was privileged enough to be neighbours with Fidel V. Ramos, who was then Chief of Staff of the beleaguered Cory Aquino. The CVC law firm helped Ramos in his presidential campaign. When Ramos won, he appointed Tony Carpio, one of the stalwarts of the firm, as his Chief Legal Counsel.


It was during Ramos' time that the "Firm" initiated the biggest operation ever--with Carpio leading the charge in appointing RTC judges. The CVC grew in astronomical numbers during this time, powered by their strong influence and proximity to Ramos. 


It was at this time that members of the firm met Renato Corona, who served as Assistant Executive secretary for Legal Affairs of then president Ramos. 


While the CVC law firm took care of Ramos, incidentally, one of the firms' partners, Avelino Cruz was also close to Mike Arroyo, husband of Senator Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was then, being pump-primed to become President. It was said that the CVC LAW FIRM was able to raise funds for the senatorial candidacies of Arroyo, even, as some say, funding her vice presidential run.


It is not a coincidence though that most members of this law firm took a very active role in diminishing and eventually, ousting former president Joseph Estrada. When Arroyo took power, she got Carpio and Cruz with her.


Avelino Cruz became defense secretary while Carpio assumed his old post as legal counsel. Eventually, Carpio became justice of the Supreme Court.


Corona stayed with Gloria Arroyo as Executive secretary before he was appointed to the court as associate justice and eventually, Chief Justice. 


The JEC deal


The JEC deal was the first MULTI=BILLION PESO CASE that involved CVC. Due to the anomalous nature of the contract, two former presidents refused to sign it. After this came the highly controversial PEA-AMARI deal. Yet, the most controversial and could be the one that eventually affected the relationships of several partners of the firm and their "external associates", was the Fraport deal.


Let me published a portion of the report on Fraport here. You ask, why do I say that this deal eventually broke the strong bonds between the Carpio Villaraza group and of the impeached Chief Justice? 


It was said that one of the associate justices right now was the one who asked Fraport to pay US$ 20 million bribe money to Pancho Villaraza, one of the senior partners of the firm.

The Piatco deal thus had many of the same defects as the Jancom garbage collection contract. That didn't stop the Supreme Court from deciding the other way on the Piatco case. Where it said in the Jancom case that procedural lapses, even violations of laws, could be disregarded if the government and the other party reached an agreement, the Supreme Court said in the Piatco case that the defects in its contract automatically rendered it null and void. 
The CVC law firm represented Asia's Emerging Dragon Corp, the original proponent of the BOT project, which lost the bid contact project to Piatco. However, many businessmen and lawyers are convinced that this could not have been the reason the Carpio group worked against the Piatco deal because the high court initially suggested that the government renegotiate with Piatco. 
Fraport alleged that the reason for the Supreme Court decision was Fraport's refusal to pay a $20 million bribe to Villaraza, plus $50 million to buy out its original Filipino partners in favor of three businessmen who are close to President Arroyo. 

What the public did'nt know is the fact that there was some money which went around, ostensibly not which came from the Germans, but from a losing bidder who contracted the firm to be able to reverse the decision favoring Fraport. That facilitation money was not given to the intended parties but was kept by one of the firm's leading personalities. 


This person, according to my friend, was severely criticized by members of Arroyo's gang of misfits during her administration, so much so, that it led to the eventual break or severage of ties between Arroyo and the "Firm". 


During Arroyos term, a meeting was held ostensibly to discuss the fate of this person, who now ascends the rungs of power. It was discussed there that he be meted the most severe penalty---he will not be given the power to become Chief Justice. 


Impeached chief Justice Renato Corona, a dear friend of this person, defended him before the Arroyos. Corona held this person of high regard being a colleague during the administration of Ramos. 


Now, surely, in this administration, this person eventually regained his stature and his former firm's top billing as the most influential law firm behind the Aquino administration.


The firm, according to several sources, got the President's good graces because the firm gave  a presidential brother-in-law, a job as chairman of a firm. Likewise, it was said that part of the campaign money used by the Aquinos during Noynoy's 2010 presidential campaign came from this group.


The firm, again according to my friend, has one singular mission---to be able to tell Mrs. Arroyo and its detractors, that the initial plan not to give the Chief Justice post to a former senior partner of the firm, will not materialized. The Firm, according to sources, is hell bent on destroying Corona and lift the "curse" so to speak, that former Arroyo associates put out against this associate justice.


The firm is flexing its muscles and is relying on the high popularity ratings of this president. However, the more this firm does their thing, the riskier it is for this president. 


Is the President willing to sacrifice his political capital just to give way to the whims and caprices of his political financiers and buddies?

Yes.

The very fact that this President will even use "People Power" to get rid of Corona, who now takes a very contrari stance against the firm, is a firm proof that this President wants to go the distance and in exchange for what? It's really a 10 billion peso question.

Hacienda Luisita. The president's relatives are asking for ten billion pesos as compensation. Plus, there are other projects supposedly being handled by the Firm which are now waiting for either the president's signature or the High Court's decision.

This is not a tussle between the Chief Executive and the impeached Chief Justice. This is a monumental fight between two big Atenean heavyweights---those who were previously aligned with the Firm and those with the Firm. This is not a fight for clean government nor a fight against graft and corruption, no.

Yes, Corona may be as corrupt as any other, but for this President to supplant him with an equally malevolent Spirit, is something more detestable and equally unacceptable.

This power struggle is turning off eventual investors. This power struggle is really disappointing simply because this administration is using the "pro-Arroyo" bogey like how the military has used the red scare in crushing insurgencies. 

This administration has not been exactly forthright with its intentions of really cleansing the bureaucracy. It does so under pretentious circumstances. 

The wheeling dealing has to stop. The influence of this firm in the government should also stop. Let the People be mobilized to get rid of this malevolent Spirit embracing the government officials inside the palace.

Oust Corona, Oust Carpio and every single one in the judiciary that has previous associations or links with the Firm. Let the judiciary be truly cleansed of misfits by ridding itself of so-called influence peddlers like those of this Firm, according to my friend.

Of course, this Firm will never back down. It has the resources. It has the strong links. 

" The only language these people behind the firm knows is simply force. They use force to wiggle their way to power. Let force then be used to bring down this malevolent Spirit that afflicts wounds within the judiciary with their immoral and evil ways, and all will go back to normalcy"

" The firm is used to being a bully. But, if you fight them back, they will recoil like a snake, wait for several weeks, and strike you back. The only way to kill the snake is to kill its head. And God knows, the time has come to hit the head, strike this snake and expunged it from our lives. God lives as a Just God. The time will come when this malevolent Spirit will go back to where it came from---the pits of hell."

Instead of a people power against Corona, let People Power bring down this malevolence so that peace will eventually reign, and morality in governance and in dispensing justice be corrected.

By the way, who swore Senator Loren Legarda as senator? See this picture---it is none other than Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who, some people say, salivates the Chief Justice post. 

Anti-Corona losing steam

Here's the dilemma.


The interest of Malacanang is really an expeditious ending to this impeachment trial. The more this trial drags, the better chance for Corona to be acquitted of all charges.


Seriously, this case could actually last for forty weeks, by which time, public sentiment against Corona would have seriously been reversed. And by that time, it would be hard for anti-Corona forces to muster enough numbers to conduct a "people power" exercise against the Chief Justice.


However, I give credit to the prosecution because they are slowly closing in on Corona, with all these pieces of evidence showing real properties bought by the Coronas without being shown in his SALN.


I heard that the prosecution will force the Senator-judges to vote on Article 2, which is sufficient to impeach Corona. This explains why Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is expediting the offering of evidence and making it easy for the prosecution to present and enter these as pieces of evidence. 


I know the defense knows this but the more pieces of evidence, irrefutable evidence at that presented before the impeachment court, the more chances of a guilty verdict for the beleaguered Chief Justice. The problem really is, the public's waning interest about the case. The trial has been, what, on its fourth week, and since the prosecution has failed to present their most explosive witness yet, this is beginning to turn into a dragging courtroom drama which is interesting only to those who love reading John Grisham or watching mock courts. 


Lastly, as time passes, Noynoy Aquino is building for himself, more enemies, while Corona continues to get support from unlikely sources, something of a political phenomenon, if you will.

Kulong sina Corona, Arroyo at Aquino

Sa toto lang mga kabayani, ang paglilitis kay Chief Justice Renato Corona ay bahagi lamang ng sarsuwelang labanan sa pagitan ng mga naghaharing-uri. Walang mahihitang buti dito ang mga mamamayan. Isa lamang itong hilahang lubid ng mga naghaharing uri: sa isang banda, ang mga nagnanais ipakitang sila'y repormado na at hindi nagnanakaw ng malaki sa taumbayan at yaon namang sagad-sagaran sa buto ang pagnanakaw. Kung susumahin, hilahang magnanakaw din ito. Ika nga sa kanto, galit ang magnanakaw sa kapwa magnanakaw. Inggit lang yaong mga hindi nakabili ng kwarentang  condo at lupa ala Corona. Sa kalaunan, baka naman sa pagdating ng panahon, yaong mga nagmamabuti ay may lamat din.


Katawa-tawa namang nagpapagamit ang Simbahan sa pagpapabango ni Corona. Mayroon pang photo release na nagpapakitang naglalay hands itong si dating archbishop Oscar Cruz na para bagang kapangyarihan niyang maglinis ng demonyo. 


Desperado, ika nga itong kampo ni Corona na maka base one sa labanan kung sino ang mas may mataas na moralidad. Habang ile lay hands ni Cruz si Corona, hayun, sandamukal na ebidensya pala ang lumalabas na bumili ng bumili ng lupa't mamahaling condo ang ni-lelay hands. Ibig saibihin ba nito, handang ipa sequester ni Corona ang mga iligal nyang pagmamay-ari para patunayan lamang na siya'y "naglinis konsensya na?"


Sa totoo lang, mas nakapangsisirang dangal ang araw-araw na misang isinasagawa sa Korte Suprema. Para bagang, inamin na ng laharan ng Korte Suprema na ito'y isang organong puno ng demonyo na kailangan ng ekshortismo. 


Mukhang hindi tatalab ang ekshortismo dahil mismong ang nagbabasbas, may alsa demonyo. Ilan bang bishops ang may iligal ding mga pagmamay-ari mula sa kaban ng mga relihigioso? Mukhang ito'y pagbabasbas ng kapwa demonyo.


Kataka-taka ding yaong bumatikos sa korte suprema noong panahon ni Gloria ay yaon din namang nasasa likod ng diumano'y mass support para sa Chief Justice.


Ang S4S ay isang grupong may maitim na agenda. Para silang mga tagahanap ng butas, na pupuwdeng lusutan, kahit hindi pupuwde. 


Taktikal ika nga ang samahan, pero laglagang tiyak ang kasasapitan.


Habang inggitan at tanungan ang mga magnanakaw na naghaharing uri, hayan, si Juan, salat pa rin sa pera at nasasa gitna ng umaasim na kahirapan.


MIlyon ang walang trabaho. Patuloy ang kontrakwalisasyon sa mga mayroon. Sweldo'y wala ring bisa sa mataas na presyo ng mga bilihin. Tuloy ligaya pa rin ang mga dambuhalang oil companies sa kanilang pagtatataas ng gasolina at diesel. Namamayani pa rin ang korapsyon at kawalang pag-asa.


Nararapat sigurong ang panawagan ay iisa---ang pagpapabagsak sa mga elitistang ganid sa yaman at kapangyarihan!


Sa simula't sapul pa lamang, walang buting nagawa itong uring ito sa lipunang Pinoy.


Para silang mga parasitong sumisipsip sa pinaghirapan nating mga mamamayan. Kailangan na sigurdon tigpasin ang mga ulo ng mga ito at itaguyod ang tunay na gobyernong pambayan. 

Renato Corona and Gloria Arroyo--fall guys

Scan all the names mentioned in the list of 188 Congressmen and you'll find that most of them, were, at one time or another, involved in at least one (1) anomalous transaction or deal during the time of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Also, try to review the list and you'll find that one or two were close friends of Gloria and even the beleaguered Chief Justice. 


So, really, this is a very simple lesson in politics---always be in power, otherwise, face the consequences for being out of the game.


Atty. Renato Corona and Gloria Arroyo have both lost in the game of politics. They are now being fed to the dogs. Only a miracle can save these two from their fate---Corona, hanging his black robe in shame and Gloria, spending her remaining life on this earth in chains. Such are the fates of those who misread Machiavelli or trusted the words of a politico.


This also shows the extent of the people's hatred against the former dispensation that even if this administration has so far been judged in not too favorable terms by both critics and supporters, it still appears better than  its predecessor.


Even if nothing changed, that the games being played by the Ilustrados of old and the politicos of the new era remain, and the dreams of the common Tao remain illusions due to extreme poverty, it still feels liberating and it still feels that everything is "a=okey"


IN truth, it is not okey and there are problems simmering below the political stratosphere. Oil giants continue to raise pump prices, prices of food stuffs are skyrocketing and joblessness pervades, still, there is a general feeling, a sense that everything is, again, " a-okey".


The people will not revolt to support Corona and Gloria's rag-tag gang of misfits in barong. Neither will the people storm Malacanang to replicate what others did in Wall STreet or Washington.


The people feels a sense of vindication knowing that the dirty mind behind all those catastrophes and all those big-time thievery is now behind an illusory bar, while remnants of a discredited regime are being held accountable for their canine-like behaviors.


If, at all, critics say, this thing about Corona is either "constitutional anomaly" or "constitutional justice". BUt, who dispenses justice but the very elites that caused this monumental and structural anomalies in the first place?


There will never be true people's justice for as long as those who punish belong to the same class as those of the guilty ones. This elite version of justice is simply not the justice envisioned by the masses. Yet, because there is no other option, the people content themselves of being treated with a spectacle just to hook them into believing that justice is served and everything put in their proper places.


This justice that we see, is mere cono justice. It will never result to a Gloria being led to the gallows or to a Corona being made to account his hidden wealth and those excesses asked to be returned to the public coffers.


THis cono justice involves humiliating the victim but never to a point where he loses his property. What is a loss of name and a pitiful shame game when someone's wealth remains with him.


Look at those who accused Corona of canine-like behavior towards Gloria. In one way or the other, they themselves, acted like brutish, thirsty dogs with their long tongues hanging in their mouths and saliva dripping all over.


If, really, this President will grant the people's wish of justice, let him go after the remnants of the previous regimes who signed that impeachment complaint, and throw the book at them as well.


Those who injured the Filipino People and stole billions deserve not just our derision but the most vile punishment from the government.


And let us re-imagine or re-create our very institutions which were prostituted by the former Powers and re-molded based on a perversion.


We will try to re-imagine these institutions so that they will function based on the needs of the People. This is the silent revolution.

Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona impeached

It was as fast as I finish drinking my Cravings coffee. Or, like what another lawyer said, it was faster than a quickee.


Philippine Chief Justice Renato Corona is officially impeached, that is, if the Lower House is concerned. As of this writing, 188 Congressmen have signed the impeachment complaint against Corona. This is the second such instance where a Constitutional head was impeached, the first was, of course, former president Joseph Estrada. 


Since the number of legislators exceed the Constitutional requirement, the impeachment complaint will go straight to the Senate. According to the rules, it goes straight to the plenary. It is now up to the 23 members of the Upper Chamber whether or not to affirm the findings of their counterparts at the Lower House. 


For sure, today's spectacle at the Lower House beats all impeachment tries in both substance, form and speed. In the case of Erap, prior to the submission of the impeachment papers to the House, the case filers had to court the majority of the legislators first before any move was made. 


ERap's minions fought a bitter fight and were defeated in the end. In Corona's case, he probably did not know what really hit him. His impeachment was undertaken albeit silently and stealthy by his enemies. What Corona knew was he was just being verbally attacked by the President, unknowing that those statements and calls were already signals from the Executive to his legislative allies that the gauntlet has been set and Corona's head ready for the cutting.


What is sure is that the Executive, more than ever, has displayed a rather sophisticated political strategy never before seen in Philippine political history. They outmaneuvered the cunning Arroyo by letting her stage managed her attempts at getting out of this country, thereby exposing herself in the end and infecting with her sins, the very head of the Judiciary. 


Corona will go down in history as the very first Chief Justice impeached. He may actually not be the only Chief Justice with the shortest stint---another one enjoys that distinction.


Surely, Corona will actually make a mark in Philippine history as the only Supreme Court Chief Justice who wasn't able to use his pen to bring down his enemies.


And his fate was already sealed by him when he personally corrupted the Court with his dogged allegiance to his principal. Corona heaped it upon himself when he tried to protect the very image of corruption in this country, the most despicable symbol of immorality and Constitutional prostitution, now a humble yet cunning inmate of  the State. 


Now, what I'm worried about is the sure political maneuverings will lead to the appointment of a former Arroyo stooge in the personas of Justice Antonio Carpio and even former Sandiganbayan Marcelo.


I advise President Aquino to come with clean hands but impeaching even Carpio and annointing somebody as Chief Justice without any tinge of debauchery nor dogged allegiance to the former and existing powers, and attributes his success as a student of law from his own steadfastness, professionalism and allegiance to the Majesty of the Law. 


Lastly, let is be said that this day marks the day when we are faced with the distinct opportunity of really smashing the institutions of old, and the rebuilding of our damaged institutions based on the principles of God, Country and The Filipino Family. 

Impeachment against Chief Justice Renato Corona done deal

A source of NPR says there is at least 105 Congressmen who will sign the impeachment papers against Chief Justice Renato Corona. And mind you, three of these 105 Congressmen belong to the minority block.


This is the final nail in efforts to dismantle the Arroyo regime, which, for nine long years, have enslaved us and have created a disfigured society injured by fits of megalomania, and abuse of power.


Corona's puppy like attitude was fully exposed when Arroyo asked the Supreme Court to grant her the right to travel. That motion was granted by the Supreme Court but was never implemented by an Executive Branch which had the courage to stamp its foot down.


Enough of constitutional buffonery! Enough of using the powers of one's office to dignify the immoral! Enough of using the law to perpetuate power and enslave the People.


Corona, by the looks of it, deserves impeachment.


The only thing that I am deathly afraid of is the eventual ascendancy of The Firm to the Supreme Court.


Remember that another Justice, Justice Antonio Carpio, was once a very staunch defender of the former president. IT was only when Nonong Cruz, partner of Carpio, decided to detach himself from Arroyo as defense secretary, did the Firm formally ended its romance with the Arroyos.


The firm, mine you, enjoyed more than five years in power with the Arroyos. 


Who will benefit from Corona's fall ? Obviously, it's Carpio and former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, stalwarts of the Firm which is now closely linked with President Aquino.


I hope this does not happen because if it does, then, it exposes what many believe this administration is---a savage wolf in sheep's clothing, or a gang who is trying to project that they are different from Arroyo, when in truth and in fact, they are the same group with the same insidious designs against the Filipino people.