Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano yesterday said he is not willing to sacrifice the truth for speed in the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
While there is a need for the Senate to get back to full time legislative work to address other pressing concerns of the nation that are suffering because of the impeachment trial, we cannot sacrifice quality of evidence and due process to hasten the impeachment trial, he said.
Cayetano said he expects the defense team of Corona to answer head-on the accusations of the prosecution panel.
He is praying that the evidence for or against Corona will be clear so it will be easy for the Senate to decide, Cayetano said.
“What it important is that when we make a decision we are clearly convinced that we are doing the right thing,” he said.
“Can you imagine if we remove a chief justice who is a good man and who is good for the institution? We will damage the institution. But can you imagine if we do not remove a man who should not be chief justice?” he asked.
Either way, the Senator-judges could make a big mistake, that is why he asks many questions, he said. “I will satisfy myself before I vote,” Cayetano stressed.
Cayetano said the upcoming elections should not influence the decisions of the Senator judges.
“If we are supposed to be influenced by public opinion, all we would have to do is take a survey and vote based on that,” he said.
Cayetano said that when he voted for the inclusion of Corona’s bank accounts as evidence he was just being consistent.
He pointed out that during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, he challenged her husband Mike Arroyo to open his bank accounts, too.
“If the impeachment did anything for the Filipinos, it engaged people to focus on government and be involved,” he said.
Cayetano urged the people to be just as involved in the government’s drafting of its budget for next year to ensure equal development for areas outside Metro Manila.
Getting involved in the budget process can touch daily lives and spark a new kind of people power to bring development to rural areas, he said.
Nothing will happen if smaller local governments get poorer, and the rich get richer, he said.
Now is the time for the Visayas and Mindanao to make noise to get an equal share, he said.
Meanwhile, he said setting October 1 to 5 as the dates for the filing of Certificates of Candidacy for the May 2013 polls by the Commission on Elections may be too early.
The matter will be subject to review by the Congressional oversight committee, Cayetano said.*CPG
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