Legal community blasts Corona Impeachment

MAASIN CITY - The legal community in Southern Leyte has come out in force on the raging controversy between Malacañang and the Supreme Court and have expressed their opposition to moves to impeach Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The judges and employees of the Regional and Municipal Trial Courts in the city and towns of the province met recently and have expressed their full support for the beleagered chief justice. Those  present during the meeting were RTC Judges Bethany Kapili, Daisy Gonzales and MTCC Judge Edgardo Leonido.

One of them revealed his dismay by saying “My concern is more for the Supreme Court and the whole judicial system than for Corona. Obviously P-Noy wants to control the Supreme Court under the guise of reform. This is unprecedented and only done in the Philippines.”

A court employee lamented “What they did is more criminal than the alleged crimes they are accusing the arroyos and corona of committing. They say they want to reform the judiciary but their actions are based on very flimsy grounds.”

Attorney Manuel Enage Jr., the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ president for Southern Leyte in a phone interview expressed his opposition to the coming impeachment proceedings. He said he was in Metro Manila recently where he met with other IBP provincial presidents and will soon present their unified stand on the constitutional issue.

Meanwhile CM Law student council president Ruevivar Reyes said “Our constitution provides for three co-equal branches of government; the executive, legislative and the judiciary. This is necessary since it ensures the checks and balances so essential to our democracy. The present impeachment move by the executive department shows it is over reaching its jurisdiction by meddling in the affairs of the judiciary. Unless corrected it could cause a constitutional crises and make our countrymen lose respect for the law.”

This sudden show of support from the local legal community came after moves in the nation’s capital to oust the Supreme Court Chief Justice. In a caucus called by the House of Representatives leadership 188 administration leaning congressmen comprising a majority of the house membership readily signed the impeachment complaint against corona.

A party list representative who signed but did not want to be identified said “As a sectoral representative how can you not sign? For this would most likely endanger the approval and funding of your future projects.”( By MARK RIMAS  & ANGELYN BOOK)

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