Lessons from CJ Corona's legal team

  I was with the defense team of CJ Corona for the past two days, my mortification for asking them to be on our talkshow. But then, we did learn a lot of things from the four top-notch lawyers, notably, Atty. Jose W. Roy III, Atty. Rico Paulo Quicho, Atty. Tranquil Salvador and the lone lady member of the team, the beautiful and talented Atty. Karen Jimeno. After my taping, we went to the Cebu Country Club for the presscon, which was jam-packed with our media friends.

 It was truly a learning process for the defense team for they never did presscons in the past, especially outside Metro Manila. But they were doing this in order to get their side of the story directly to the media from outside Metro Manila, while at the same time, they were getting the pulse of the people in the areas that they visited. One thing I learned from them is that, all of them are doing this “pro-bono” or for free and it’s because they believe in the innocence of CJ Corona.

 Remember that old phrase, “You cannot fight City Hall?” There is some truism in that statement. But just imagine, if you are part of the defense team that is number one in the hate-list of Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino, III, it becomes a daunting task. In truth, one of them even admitted that it was far better to be on the side of the prosecution because you could get globs and globs of influence being the President’s legal boy. But then, they took it as a challenge to defend the underdog, which CJ Corona represents.

 Even Atty. Karen Jimeno admitted that the impeachment trial was a hindrance to her wedding a few months ago, and disturbed her honeymoon. But at the end of the day, they found out that by defending CJ Corona, they were defending the very institution that protects our individual rights, while at the same time, they were helping preserve the rule of law, which in a democracy like ours has three major pillars, the Judiciary, the Legislative and the Executive.

 Come Monday, the impeachment trial will once again resume its sessions and hopefully by months end, all this will be over. But at what cost to the nation? For sure, it has become divisive to our country and people. But the bigger concern to the ordinary man on the street is, “What will this impeachment trial do for me? Will it bring more jobs or reduce the prices of basic commodities? For sure, the result of this trial won’t help the poor people of this country.

 While I was always against this impeachment trial from day one, we can still learn bitter lessons from this case. First, that it is high time that we got rid of the hypocrites in this country. Perhaps we should write down all their names and commit never to vote for them.

 A case in point is, we learned that the majority of the 188 Congressmen and women who signed the impeachment complaint against CJ Corona for his alleged failure to file his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) also did not file their SALNs. If you had any delicadeza, those members of Congress who also didn’t file their SALNs have no right to chastise CJ Corona for not filing his SALN. But then the defense team told us in no uncertain terms that CJ Corona filed his SALNs.

 More than anything else, what I got from the defense team was that they were now more confident about presenting their case before the public than they were two months ago. In fact, they believe that they now have the numbers to get an acquittal for CJ Corona. On the other side of the spectrum, Malacañang is now showing its cracks when it mentioned that CJ Corona could face another impeachment complaint one year if he is acquitted. This only shows that CJ Corona is in a better position today than he was a couple of months ago.

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 I read in the local news that Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has tasked the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) to study the suggestion of former Mayor Alvin Garcia to build a road that would link Orchid St. in Barangay Capitol Site to V. Rama Avenue. Their task is to identify the lot owners who will be affected by this road project.

 I fully agree with this plan for the simple reason that any new road link that we will open would certainly reduce our traffic congestion. However, Mayor Mike must first finish the widening of the road beside the Provincial Capitol Bldg. Years ago, we also approved in the Regional Development Council (RDC-7) the road link between V. Rama Ave. to Gorordo Ave. that would decongest Escario Street. If you ask me, this should be the priority project. But then… there’s no money for it.

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