|
The current impeachment trial of Renato Corona, the Philippines’ Supreme Court Chief Justice, is extremely rare even in a country with a flair for politics. The trial has raised eyebrows not just in the Philippines, but also among Filipinos locally and across the U.S.
Supporters of Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III say he is making good on a campaign promise to root out corruption and promote good governance. After assuming the presidency in June 2010, Noynoy has aggressively gone after top leaders in the previous administration. He has filed corruption charges against Corona and accused former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of electoral sabotage and other alleged wrongdoings.
Events Leading Up to Impeachment
In October 2011, the Philippines’ Department of Justice (DOJ) barred Arroyo, who won election in 2010 as a representative of Pamapanga, and her husband from leaving the country. Arroyo appealed the DOJ’s order and claimed that she needed to travel abroad for medical treatment. A few weeks later, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) allowing the couple to leave the country under certain conditions.
Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives asked the Supreme Court to enforce the TRO but DOJ officials refused to budge. In mid-November 2011, an arrest warrant was served on Arroyo, which she received during confinement at a posh hospital in Taguig City. She was later transferred to a veterans medical center in Quezon City and placed under hospital arrest.
In the following weeks, rumors spread of a plot by President Aquino’s allies in the House of Representatives to impeach the chief justice. On December 12, the House initiated an impeachment complaint signed by 188 members against Corona who was accused of eight counts of graft, corruption, betraying the public’s trust and violating the Philippine Constitution. The complaint was filed the next day in the Senate. The Senate began the impeachment trial against Corona on January 16 with designated members of the House of Representatives serving as prosecutors.
Arroyo is a close ally of Corona, who served as her chief-of-staff before she appointed him to the Supreme Court in April 2002. Shortly after Aquino won the presidency, Arroyo appointed Corona as chief justice, a “midnight appointment” that was seen by some as an effort to derail efforts to bring her and others in her administration to justice. Impeachment allegations against Corona include corruption and biased rulings that favored Arroyo.
Corona Fires Back
In response, Corona has accused Noynoy of targeting Arroyo-appointed Supreme Court justices and filling it with his own appointees, which would give him control of the presidency, congress and the courts. The truth is, it’s not easy to boot sitting justices and appoint one’s own nominees to the bench. Supreme Court justices can only be replaced upon retirement or by vacancies brought about by resignation, death and conviction after impeachment. Some observers feel that the Corona camp, being the accused and on the defensive, was offering rationalizations for President Aquino’s actions.
“I think the president’s motives are more along his stated priorities on his fight against corruption and cleaning up the public bureaucracy, rather than along the more political expedient of being able to appoint his own men to the High Court,” says Dr. Belinda Aquino, a retired University of Hawaii-Manoa professor and renowned expert on Philippine affairs.
Corona’s supporters have also criticized Noynoy for chasing corrupt officials when he instead should be focusing on economic growth policies. However, many say in defense of Noynoy that rooting out corruption would in fact result in economic gains since corruption is one of the reasons why investors are reluctant to do business in the Philippines.
Toy Arre, former president and CEO of the Filipino Community Center, agrees that rooting out corruption would have a positive effect on the Philippines’ economy.
“Economic growth is difficult for the Philippines, even under ideal conditions,” Arre says. “It’s exponentially more difficult under a corrupt system of government.”
Ramifications of Impeachment
Noynoy’s initiatives against corruption is seen as a cleansing process which, if successful in higher levels of government, could have an effect on the citizenry when it comes to weeding out graft.
“The problem has been rooted so long in the Philippine body politic that it will be extremely difficult to eradicate,” says Dr. Aquino. “But the attempts of the current administration are welcomed news in a country that has been so long mired in corrupt practices.”
Dr. Aquino was surprised that Noynoy openly and aggressively targeted a “big fish” like Corona, instead of using a more subtle, low-key approach.
“He comes from a younger generation and less constrained I would imagine by the traditional niceties of Philippine politics and the possibility of being hit back.” Aquino says.
Others like Visayan community leader Jun Colmenares say it was a good idea for Noynoy to go after a “big fish” like Corona.
“If the president is serious about going after government corruption, then a big fish (like Corona) is a good choice,” he says. “It shows that he intends to root out corruption at the highest levels of government. What the Philippines needs is moral regeneration. It has been so mired in corruption for the past decades that it is high time to root it out. We need good and honest government leaders.”
|
