Urging CJ Corona To Resign

I had the title of this blog and a sentence or two among my drafts about a week before the start of the impeachment trial in January 16, 2012. My objective then was to discuss why resigning was the better option for CJ Corona but failing to finish the write-up before trial started, I decided to shelve the article and just continue to blog about the development and issues in the trial both here and in my other blog. Now, I revive the topic and though repercussions changed with the commencement of the trial, I still believe that resigning now will be good for the accused Chief Justice and our country as a whole.

The impeachment trial is currently on its third week and the prosecution, despite the vehement objections by the defense team, was able to squeeze initial evidence that they will use to prove the failure to disclose to the public and the non-inclusion of some assets by CJ Corona in his past Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) as alleged in Impeachment Article II. The impeachment court did not allow the gathering and introduction of evidence on the alleged ill-gotten wealth (Paragraph 2.4) but evidence so far gathered tend to convince the minds of common people that there indeed could be some assets that the Corona couple acquired beyond their legal means.

As it stands now, the ongoing saga featuring CJ Renato Corona, his wife and children will continue to be the blockbuster show for many days to come. What with the prosecution’s plan to present 100 witnesses and the defense team’s continued objections. Add the time that the defense would required to present their own witnesses plus the tantrums of Senator-judge Miriam Santiago once her blood pressure is back to normal and we can only expect the circus to be here for considerable amount of time.

The longer it takes for the trial to get concluded, the more damaging it will be to CJ Corona in the eyes of the Filipinos. It was said by many that even if he gets acquitted, the damage to his character brought about by the trial will make him lose the moral standing to continue to lead the Supreme Court. With this becoming obvious as the trial goes, urging CJ Corona to resign now seems to be a good advice to give him. If he resigns now, he will be spared of further humiliation and, whether they accept it or not, our government officials involved in the impeachment process will be spared of devoting their precious time in the exercise and can instead focus on more pressing matters like those affecting the economy and the nation as a whole.