Trillanes to base decision on public opinion

MANILA, Philippines - While the members of the prosecution team for the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona have been throwing around the sordid details of his alleged ill-gotten wealth, such evidence may end up not amounting to much, at least for one senator.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said that the evidence presented during the trial of Corona would not be that much of a basis for his final decision but rather what an acquittal or conviction would mean for the country and what the people would think about it.

“My verdict should not be based solely on evidence as it now becomes a matter of public policy, and the over-arching policy issue in this whole impeachment episode is whether the conviction or acquittal of Chief Justice Renato Corona would be good for our country,” he said.

“To resolve this, I intend to use political acceptability as the sole criterion to evaluate the projected outcomes of either policy alternative of conviction or acquittal,” he added.