REDUCE DELAYS on Impeachment Trial

REDUCE DELAYS on Impeachment Trial seeks by Enrile

MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, presiding officer of the impeachment court, yesterday suggested that the prosecution and defense sit down and make a stipulation on facts to come up with an agreement as to which evidence and witnesses would be accepted in order to relieve the court of acting on numerous objections during the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.


“I think both panels should sit down and agree on this so as to cut time for direct, cross exams, re-cross. Rules of court must be followed like the rules of evidence that ensure rights of the accused, otherwise the innocent could go to jail,” Enrile said.

Concerns have been raised about a protracted impeachment trial because of the large number of witnesses the prosecution panel intends to present in support of the allegations contained in the eight Articles of Impeachment against Corona.

Enrile was among those who were surprised by the list of over 100 witnesses presented by the prosecution panel in a press conference last Friday, and with his reaction of “oh my God!” it was clear that he was aware its implications on the length of the trial.

He said he has no choice but to accept those witnesses and much as he tried to hide it, there were signs that he was not too pleased with the presentation of the prosecution.
“You don’t have to have many witnesses if your case is strong. I thought they are limiting their evidence to what’s important and relevant. In that case, I can’t estimate anymore when we can finish them all,” Enrile said over radio dzRH.
He has advised the prosecution, particularly Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., to always be prepared when entering the impeachment court after they were bombarded with objections by the defense panel, in some cases, leaving them with no choice but to submit to the discretion of the court.

The defense panel has raised objections about the evidence and witnesses presented by the prosecution so far, a move seen by many as causing undue delay on the trial.


However, Enrile and the impeachment court have sustained a majority of the objections, which has inevitably left many members of the prosecution panel frustrated.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan also expressed his concern over the number of witnesses laid out by the prosecution last Friday because this could affect the other work that has to be done by the Senate and the rest of government.

Using the past two weeks of trial as basis, Pangilinan said it would probably take around 10 months to complete the presentation of 100 witnesses, not including the ones to be presented by the defense panel.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, on the other hand, said he would be willing to work as a senator-judge for as long as it takes, even if it means giving up his vacation time.

“As long as the witnesses will be relevant and material to any of the eight Articles of Impeachment, I am willing to support it for the sake of the truth and fairness, especially if it can help the senator-judges make a good, conscientious decision,” he said.

“This trial is far more important than our session break. It doesn’t matter to me if I have to work beyond our calendared session period,” he added.


Based on the legislative calendar for the second regular session of Congress, the legislators from both the Senate and the House of Representatives would be on break from March 24 to May 6.

After another month of sessions, from May 7 to June 7, they would go on yet another break from June 8 to July 22 with the sine die adjournment of the second regular session of Congress.


Marvin Agustin, PinoyE2 Correspondent

“BIG DAY FOR TRANSPARENCY”-- PROSECUTORS

 “BIG DAY FOR TRANSPARENCY”-- PROSECUTORS  (18 January 2012)

Senate, Philippines  -  THE Clerk of Court of the Supreme Court was forced to turn over the controversial Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Networth(SALN) of  impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona on the third day of the impeachment trial.

Corona’s SALNs were submitted to the tribunal by SC Clerk of Court Enriquetta Vidal after she was ordered by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile as presiding officer to surrender the documents despite her repeated refusal.

 "Your honor, "I’m really in a quandary. I’m in dilemma right now. In view of the resolution of the court en ban on May 2, 1989. I'm restricted because it says here in one of the guidelines that all requests for SALN will have to file it with the clerk of court and the en banc will decide to release it or not,"  Vidal said.

Several attempts of the defense panel led by Atty. Serafin Cuevas to prevent her in submitting the SALNs were failed and inutile after the Senator-Judges defended the ruling of Enrile.

Senator Joker Arroyo pointed out in his manifestation that the lady witness be given a day to seek permission from the SC if she will be allowed to release Corona’S SALN or not.

"I am disturbed by these developments. The witness asks for authorization from her office. We do not know the the Supreme Court will react…We will run the risk of having a showdown between the Senate impeachment court and the Supreme Court. Give the lady a day to ask the Supreme Court for authorization rattan than use the strong arm of the impeachment court," Arroyo stressed.

Another Senator-Judge, Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano contradicts the manifestation of Arroyo saying that the subpoena was filed with the Court of Clerk and not with the Supreme Court.

"The problem is if all the witnesses come here and the subpoenas are issued to them and they will come and tell us that they will have to ask permission first from their boss that will erode the authority of this Senate impeachment court," said Cayetano.

Meanwhile, Prosecution panel Spokesman and Cong. Erin Tanada welcomed this development and hailed the Senator-Judges for upholding transparency in allowing the disclosure of Corona’s SALN.

“It is a “big day for transparency since Corona’s SALN have been kept away from  public’s eyes for more than nine years, Ito ay panimulang hakbang para malaman nag katotohanan. Ngayon, unti-unti nahuhubaran nag matagal ng ma-sekretong  Korte Suprema. Ito ay umpisa para malaman nag lahat ng sekreto ni CJ Corona," Tanada said.

Another Spokesman of the Prosecution, Cong. Edgardo Angara thanked the Senator-Judges for helping the panel to shed light on an issue when there was a “complete darkness.”

FLORANTE ROSALES
REPORTER/ANCHORMAN
DZRH-MBC

Impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona: Beefing up the security at the Senate

 
   “Our mission is to keep everybody safe. Handa na po kami,” Balajadia said on his firm statement.



Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Ret. Maj. Gen. Jose Balajadia Jr. said in a press briefing Thursday they are expecting rallyists from anti and pro-Corona camps during the trial, which will start on January 16.



He said bomb-sniffing dogs from the Philippine Air Force will also be in the vicinity while CCTV cameras will be installed in strategic locations.


Additional police units will be deployed, apart from the Senate personnel usually guarding the premises, said Senate Security Enforcement Service Director Manuel Parlade.


“About 40 anti-riot policemen will be posted near the Film Center of the Philippines to defuse possible demonstrations,” Parlade said.

But despite threats in the metro, Balajadia said there have been no threats with regards to the upcoming trial.


Trial open to ‘limited’ public


Meanwhile, Senate Secretary Emma Reyes announced that the Senate can only accommodate 175 guests from the general public to witness the trial due to the limited space of the plenary hall.

The Office of the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms will issue 150 passes to the public and 25 passes to senior citizens daily on a first-come, first-served basis starting Jan. 16 at 11 a.m. at the covered walk in the Senate grounds. Only one pass will be issued for each guest.

Senate Security Support Service Director Anthony Samonte noted that dress code will be strictly enforced to those who wish to watch the proceedings.


“Guests wearing sleeveless shirts and slippers will not be allowed inside the hall. The public is encouraged to wear shirts or blouses with collars to be able to enter the plenary hall. Propaganda shirts, pins, IDs or other propaganda paraphernalia will strictly not be allowed inside the building,” Samonte said.


"Guests will also be restricted to designated areas and will not be allowed to roam around. Those in the plenary hall will also not be allowed to take pictures or videos of the proceedings so as not to disrupt the trial. All cellular phones, beepers or other communication devices must be turned off once the guests enter the plenary hall," he added.


Orderly media coverage

As for the trial’s media coverage, only accredited reporters with impeachment IDs will be allowed inside the Senate building during the trial. No media reporting or interviews will be allowed inside the plenary hall and on the second floor hallway so as not to disrupt the proceedings.


The Senate Public Relations Information Bureau, together with the five pooled TV networks, will provide audio-video live feed of the trial. The live webcast of the plenary session will be available at Senate's official website senate.gov.ph.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, presiding officer of the impeachment trial, has instructed Senate personnel to see to it that measures are adopted to ensure that the media coverage would not get in the way of the conduct of an orderly, open and transparent impeachment trial.

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COMPOSTELA VALLEY MINING LANDSLIDE

COMPOSTELA MINING LANDSLIDE

COMPOSTELA MINING LANDSLIDE

Compostela Valley, Philippines.(AP) - Philippine rescuers resumed the search Friday for up to 150 people who remained missing a day after a deadly landslide buried a remote gold mining community in the country's south, the military source said. At least 28 people were killed on Mindanao island before dawn on Thursday when a rock and mud avalanche buried a mountain settlement of gold prospectors who had refused to leave an area declared too dangerous for habitation. Some 23 bodies were already identified while the number of missing in the landslide that hit Diat community in Napnapan village here rose to 46 as of Saturday. Rhona Siojo, municipal social welfare officer, told that 27 of the bodies were already brought down and given to their families. Five of those killed were children aged four to 16 years old. A group of volunteers prepared to go up to the gold rush site to help about 140 soldiers and police there, who resumed the search at first light as the rains ceased, local military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lyndon Paniza said. Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo flew over the area on Friday and ordered in a talk with local officials the immediate shutting down of mining operations there and the eviction of close to 2,000 residents composed of miners and their families. "We want this implemented within two weeks and the army and police would be mobilized to carry out the forced eviction of settlers and the tearing down of shanties," said Robredo. "We're not losing hope in our search for survivors. We will not shift to (corpse) retrieval mode until 72 hours had passed," he told AFP in a telephone interview from Pantukan town, where more rescuers are being mustered. Rescuers are pushing tubes into the mouths of mine shafts that tunnel into the mountainside in the hope that some trapped miners could still be alive in them, but so far there had been no signs of life, he conceded. Pantukan and nearby Monkayo, both on the west flank of Mindanao's Pacific Cordilleras mountains, have drawn gold prospectors for years despite frequent, deadly landslides. Their largely unregulated tunnelling have made the mountainside unstable, government experts say, and heavy rains since last month had saturated the earth on top, helping to trigger the earthfall. The government said the miners had been told to leave the area as early as 2008, but local officials failed to enforce the ban. After the latest disaster, Paniza said the local government ordered the rest of the community of about 1,000 people to leave the area immediately amid concern of more landslips. Compostela Valley Provincial Governor Arturo Uy admitted it would not be easy to implement the order as those who would be affected would lose their livelihood. "Many of the victims' relatives want to help out in the rescue but they have no knowledge of the proper rescue techniques," Paniza said. "The area is still critical and we expect other portions to eventually cave in." The survivors will be forced to relocate to a flatter area about 1.5 kilometres (about a mile) away, he added.

MCC offers aid to Phillipines after floods

Abbotsford-based Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) welcomes donations to support emergency assistance efforts in the Philippines.

Hundreds of people have died and hundreds more are missing after flash floods triggered by a tropical storm swept across the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Dec. 17.

Two of the worst-hit cities are Cagayan de Oro and Iligan where churches, schools and community centres have been converted into temporary evacuation centres.

MCC does not have staff in the Philippines, but is working through an organization associated with the Integrated Mennonite Churches of the Philippines, called PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. (PBCI). Following the floods of September 2009, MCC partnered with PBCI to train two peace and reconciliation teams in disaster preparedness.

The needs identified by PBCI in this current disaster are food, water, medicine, bedding and footwear for survivors in the crowded evacuation centres.

Those wishing to make a donation can do so by making cheques out to MCC BC, marked for Philippine Flood Response and sent to Box 2038, 31414 Marshall Rd. Abbotsford, BC V2T 3T8.

Donations can also be made when you call 604-850-6639 or toll free at 1-888-622-6337 or online at donate.mcc.org