For all the time spent, evidence presented, testimonies made, and grandstanding done during the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, there is one thing certain — the fate of the head of the third branch of government has been sealed long before the first witness appeared before the Senate court.
The senators’ votes will hardly be based on evidence and testimonies, but on the following things – their political affiliation, the effect of their vote on their relation with the power brokers and powers-that-be, and for the senators seeking reelection, the effect of their vote on their chances in the 2013 elections.
The brilliance and performance of the prosecution and defense lawyers would have far less effect on how the senator-judges would cast their vote than the behind-the-scene lobbying, pressuring and cajoling being initiated by the interest groups that either support or oppose Corona.
Unlike in a jury trial where the lawyers of both sides try to influence the votes of the jurors by presenting evidence and witnesses, the long-drawn impeachment trial was directed more towards justifying before the people the votes that had long been cast in the minds of the senator-judges.
Although he should have not done it openly, we cannot fault President Aquino and his allies for lobbying for the conviction of Corona as we should not question – if indeed it were true – that certain Iglesia ni Cristo members were lobbying for his acquittal.
What would be a wrong move is for Aquino to openly threaten to withhold the pork barrels of senators who refuse to follow his whim or for Aquino to directly meet with the senator judges while the trial is ongoing because that would be similar to jury tampering, and for the INC to openly threaten to vote against the senators who would convict the Chief Justice.
Who did not have a pre-trial verdict of guilt or non-guilt among us? And who can honestly say that his perception of whether Corona was guilty or not was changed by the evidence and the witnesses presented at the course of the trial?
Impeachment trials, after all, are more of a political process than a judicial one. And those who decide on the fate of the impeached are, after all, politicians.
But still we have to respect whatever the decision of the Senate court makes at the end of the trial. The Constitution has set the procedures for the impeachment of certain officials of the government, and it seems the Senate, under the able leadership of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, dutifully followed the rules of the trial. I can’t say the same of the House of Representatives, which apparently railroaded the filing of the impeachment complaint. But that’s water under the bridge.
The important thing is for the people and the parties concerned to accept the verdict and move on. The Chief Justice was brave enough to go through the rigors of the trial, repeatedly pronouncing that he would fight for his honor until death, and should be just as brave to face his fate.
On the part of Aquino, we can only hope that he would be man enough to accept a Corona acquittal. He has so far acted like a mad dog who would not accept anything but a conviction of Corona, even telling the people that the success of his administration and its drive against corruption depended on it.
The Chief Justice has so far conducted himself very well despite the repeated attacks against him and his family through the media. I expect him to be as civil when he finally appears before the Senate court on Tuesday, a move that men of less courage would not risk.
The good thing is that this political drama that has consumed the Aquino administration and the people for months is about to end. Whether the Senate convicts or acquits Corona, the Aquino administration and everyone concerned should be ready to heal the wounds that the highly divisive impeachment trial has inflicted.
The country’s economic development has been bogged down by so many unresolved scandals and controversies left by the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. I hope the Corona impeachment trial will not bring additional baggage to the long-suffering Filipino people.