There is clearly much at stake for both the president and the Supreme Court.
Some of the eight charges may be hard to sustain both because they were quickly cobbled together and because the Senate has so far shown little sympathy to the prosecution’s arguments. Then there are the actual impeachment allegations.
#LIMBO BAR MANILA TRIAL#
A Supreme Court ruling to halt the trial would clearly provoke a major conflict between the legislature and the judiciary. It also decided that the defence must not be compelled to release documents that could be used against Corona. Although his petition for the case to be thrown out was rejected, the Senate ruled that the subpoenas for Corona and his wife to testify violated their constitutional right against self-incrimination and the rules on spousal privilege. Not surprisingly, then, procedural rulings by the Senate have so far favoured Chief Justice Corona. Mustering the numbers in the Lower House may be easy, but the president’s support in the Senate is less certain because only four of its 23 sitting members belong to his Liberal Party. Under the 1987 constitution, one-third of all members of the lower house have to endorse an impeachment complaint for trial by the Senate, and at least two-thirds of the Senate must vote to impeach. To begin with, there are several institutional hurdles to overcome. But the Supreme Court - all of whose members have been appointed by Arroyo - ruled that Corona’s appointment should stand.Īlthough Aquino and his supporters are eager to see Corona removed, the impeachment process will be fraught with difficulties. In protest against this ‘midnight appointment’, which is constitutionally prohibited, Aquino refused to have Chief Justice Corona deliver the oath of office at his inauguration. Arroyo controversially appointed Corona chief justice two days after the 2010 election in which Aquino triumphed. They point out that Chief Justice Corona is a close ally of the former president, having served as her acting executive and legal counsel when she took office in 2001. On the other hand, Arroyo’s critics consider the impeachment well founded. The relationship between the judiciary and the executive has become increasingly tense in this context, the impeachment trial has major political significance for an administration eager to follow through on its campaign promises.Ĭritics of President Aquino see the impeachment as part of a witch-hunt against former president Arroyo and her allies. And in 2011, it reversed a watch-list order barring former president Arroyo from leaving the country pending criminal investigation for electoral sabotage, and ruled against President Aquino’s family in an agrarian reform case. But in December 2010, in what would become the first of several setbacks the new administration would face, the Supreme Court ruled the order unconstitutional. Recognising the growing public dissatisfaction over abuses of power under the previous administration, and promising a new ‘social contract’ with the Filipino people, the president at once issued an executive order establishing a ‘truth commission’ to investigate claims of corruption. While political drama is hardly new to the Philippines, few would have predicted such an intense confrontation back in May 2010, when President Aquino was elected by a landslide after campaigning on a platform of good governance and anti-corruption. But this time it is not about a world championship belt, and the outcome may affect governance and lives in the Philippines for years to come. Like its predecessor, the current thriller pits whole political groups against one another. Boxing fans remember the iconic ‘Thrilla in Manila’ that pitted Muhammad Ali against Joe Frazier in 1975. In instigating the hearings, the current president, Benigno Aquino III, has taken on not only the former president but also one of the most respected institutions in the country - the Supreme Court. The impeachment process is at the crux of an increasingly tense political drama unfolding in Manila. He stands accused of betraying the public trust through ‘partiality and subservience’ in cases involving the former president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who appointed him, as well as corruption and constitutional violation. On 16 January, the Philippines Senate opened a hearing on the impeachment of the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Renato Corona, on eight different charges. Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the PacificĪuthors: Cristina Bonoan, the Philippines, Alejandro Ciencia, UP, and Björn Dressel, ANU
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