Defense: Newly-Cropped Evidence Proves Impeachment Railroading
This is a press statement from the Defense team
The defense team of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona welcomed the statements of two senator-judges who casted doubts on the admissibility of the US properties report to the ongoing impeachment trial as they stressed that the supposed new evidence only proved further that impeachment complaint was railroaded.
Chief Justice Corona has already denied owning real properties in the US and denounced blogger Raissa Robles for spreading information that the Chief Justice has real properties abroad.
Senator-Judge Aquilino Pimentel III earlier said it was “too late in the day” for the prosecution to present evidence on the supposed US properties of the Chief Justice because it has already rested its case in so far as the Chief Justice’s properties are concerned. The prosecution ended its presentation of evidence last March 1.
For his part, Senator-Judge Rafael Recto said that the US properties report was “irrelevant, immaterial, and impertinent to the ongoing trial.”
Lawyer Tranquil Salvador III, echoed the sentiments of Senator-Judge Pimentel, saying that the recent flaunting of the said US properties only proved further that the impeachment complaint indeed has been railroaded and is utterly defective. It confirmed what the defense has always been saying that the prosecution continues to fish for evidence through shadow subalterns even after they have rested their case.
He prodded the prosecution to amend the impeachment complaint if they are convinced that the so called US properties of the Chief Justice are material and relevant to the impeachment case.
“They should amend the articles of impeachment if they are confident that this piece of evidence will stand in a court of law instead of entertaining this so-called evidence outside of the impeachment court,” he said.