Renato Corona, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines was impeached on December 12, 2011. Corona was the third official, after President Joseph Estrada on 2000 and Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez earlier on 2011, to be impeached by the House of Representatives.
Corona was perceived as an ally of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who had appointed him as chief justice of the Supreme Court, days after the 2010 presidential election. This comes after the Supreme Court ruled that the president's ban on appointments does not extend to the judiciary. Since then, the Supreme Court has been accused of ruling unfavorably of the Aquino administration in cases concerning Arroyo.
The Senate, which had already convened as an impeachment court, began the trial on January 16, 2012. This is the second impeachment trial in history, as Gutierrez resigned prior to the trial.
On the December 12, 2011 flag-raising ceremony at the Supreme Court, Corona revealed that there was "a secret plan to oust me from office by any means, fair or foul." Corona said that he would not resign.[7]
Later in the day, a caucus amongst Aquino's allies in the House of Representative was called. Minority leader Edcel Lagman said that discussion amongst Aquino's allies heightened when the Committee on Justice passed an impeachment case involving Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo on his alleged plagiarism. Lagman further said that if the vote passed, he would question its "legal and factual basis."[8] The deputy presidential spokesperson, on the other hand, stated that the Palace "is not privy to the discussions of the Liberal Party in the House."[9]
At the conclusion of majority bloc's caucus, Committee on Justice Chairman Niel Tupas Jr. presented the impeachment complaint; after the presentation, only two representatives asked for more questions, while an overwhelming majority asked to sign the complaint. He said that there were no