Impeach trial verdict seen February 12

The Senate impeachment tribunal may hand down its verdict by Feb. 12 to allow legislators to concentrate on congressional elections, according to Senate President Aquilino Pimentel.

Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., who presides over the impeachment tribunal, also asked all officers of the court, including the defense and prosecution panels, to speed up the trial.

Concerns that the landmark trial could be protracted have adversely affected the economy, which is already reeling from the scandals that have hit the administration and the street protests calling for President Estrada’s ouster.

Pimentel, for his part, said on government television that both parties have agreed to end presentation of evidence by the end of January.

"The trial proper ends by January, so that before Feb. 12 there would already be a decision," Pimentel said.

House Minority Leader Feliciano Belmonte Jr., manager of the prosecution team, said his panel agreed to finish presenting its case by Jan. 19, while defense lawyer Raul Daza said they "would need only 10 days" to wrap up their position by Jan. 30.

The court’s "number one consideration is that these (proceedings) must be finished, including judgment, before Feb. 12, which is the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy," Belmonte said.

He was referring to the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy for the May 14 elections.

Pimentel said both pa-nels will be given time to present their respective memoranda arguing the merits of their cases, followed by oral arguments.

The senators will then hand down their verdicts individually – a process that could drag on until Va-lentine’s Day.

Pimentel said the senators agreed to forgo debate on the number of votes needed to convict Mr. Estrada.

According to the Constitution, a two-thirds majority is needed to convict the President. But several senators and some private organizations have questioned if the majority meant is that of a full-house Senate of 24 members or of the present Senate of 22 members.

Senator Marcelo Fernan died in office in 1999 while Senator Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has since been elected to the Vice Presidency. Senator Robert Barbers was not sworn into the impeachment tribunal because he is in the United States recuperating from surgery.

Pimentel said that questions on majority would be immaterial since Mr. Estrada would need only eight votes for an acquittal.

Several senators sitting as judges and members of the House of Representatives acting as prosecutors in the trial are expected to seek re-election.

The House of Representatives impeached Mr. Estrada last November on charges of bribery, graft, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.

If found guilty on any of the charges by the Senate tribunal , he will be removed from office.

The impeachment trial yesterday entered its 17th day with a prosecution witness testifying that three people, identified with presidential friend Charlie "Atong" Ang, opened accounts with the Land Bank of the Philippines in August 1998.

The prosecution panel claims that Mr. Estrada used these accounts to skim off tobacco excise taxes. — Perseus Echeminada