day2, corona impeachment

Gentlemen of the prosecution team.

We were under the impression that when the articles of impeachment, ALL 8 OF THEM, were filed and delivered to the Senate, you were prepared to show that ALL THESE 8 ALLEGATIONS hold ground, and that you can show that ALL 8 OF THEM can be proven. Your team is composed of eleven (11!) lawyers/prosecutors, 11 lawyers for 8 articles of impeachment. We don’t even want to know how many staff each lawyer has working for them in this case. You are using taxpayers money, our money! Least you can do is come to class with your assignments, yes? Ok, we had our laugh, thank you, now can we get serious please?

Ok, now to OTHER things that happened on day 2 before they decided to humor us.

– Presiding Officer JP Enrile delivered the longest NO in the history of NO, when he denied the motion to subpoena CJ Corona and his family members. It was so long and confusing, the prosecution team merely said “YES” and did not object anymore.

– Sen. Alan Cayetano argued against it, so it was put to vote. 14-6, the Senator-judges voted to uphold the original ruling of NO subpoenas. I think Sen. Lapid raised his hand on both AYEs and NAYs.

– After that was settled, Tupas took the floor to state his objection to Enrile’s comment that the impeachment was “akin to a criminal case.” Why Tupas ever thought he can successfully argue with Enrile will remain a mystery, but he did, and so Manong Johnny delivered another lecture.

– But Tupas was not done yet. He felt that he has not been humiliated enough, and so asked Enrile what is the source of the material he just discussed. To which, brilliant as he is, Enrile replied without missing a beat: “This is the product of my own mind.”

– Cavite Rep. Pidi Barzaga then started presenting evidences for Article 2, and this is when the excrement hit the ventilation. Atty. Cuevas of the defense team insisted that they were not informed that they would start with Article 2, and said the prosecution should follow the order that the Articles were presented. Barzaga, deciding that he can up the ante on self-humiliation, admitted they were not prepared for Article 1, and was convinced by Enrile into admitting that they would prefer a postponement. To which, the taxpayer expressed their collective feeling, as exemplified below:

Corona impeachment, day 1

This is history in the making kids, watch and be informed. When the day comes when your kids ask you about this part of our history, you would be thankful you were paying attention as it happened.

Ok, day 1 …
– The robes! They are much better looking than the one they wore when the impeachment court was convened.

– Appearances of the lawyers … wow, bigatin ang parada ng mga abugado, including private prosecutors of the House Of Representatives (“under the control and direction of the House of Representatives”).

– Prosecution had a small victory when the request for a preliminary hearing was denied, but man, Atty. Cuevas wins!

– Opening statements: Defense, by Atty Cuevas, again, I am surprised how sharp he is (81 yrs old), and gives you an initial impression on how mature and ‘heavy’ the representation of CJ Corona is. Then for the prosecution, Rep. Niel Tupas, who, following Atty Cuevas, looked like a schoolboy. Prosecution initially wanted private prosecutor Mario Bautista to do opening, but Enrile already ruled that only House Representatives can speak for prosecution. Which I think really threw Tupas off, and added to his nervousness. And was he reciting a poem towards the end? Sounds like he was.

– Tupas was so weak on this day, Corona seems to be so worry-free and was in fact shown several times with his eyes closed, appearing to be taking a nap.

– Then that was it. No fireworks on the first day, probably because Sen. Miriam was absent.

– Next: on day2, the presentation of evidence will start.