The Impeachment Case
I-Introduction
We are facing the second impeachment trial in our history, this time of the highest leadership of the Judiciary, a branch of government not usually thrown political intrigue.
Impeachment, which forms part of our constitutional system of checks and balances, originated in England and was later adopted by American colonial governments. We subsequently adopted this concept, among numerous others, in our own Constitution.
Academic studies show that, historically speaking, impeachment has been used as a powerful instrument of divided politics.
An impeachment puts into question the legality of a leader and, therefore, results in political instability, especially in presidential impeachment cases. But through the same processes of impeachment, a leader is also given the opportunity to defend himself. If justified, he can regain the political ascendancy necessary to fulfill his responsibilities. Now, this justification rests on the Senate which acts as the jury and judge. In other words, an impeachment trial should not necessarily be seen as mechanism that undermines the Executive or the Judiciary, rather a process which ensures leaders govern without doubts over their legitimacy. It is, admittedly, an extreme recourse but one that incontrovertibly promotes the essence of a democratic system — the consent of the governed.
There had been three impeachment cases in Philippine history: Former President Joseph Estrada, Former Ombudsman Merciditas Gutierrez, and now Chief Justice Renato Corona.
II-Body
The impeachment Trial The historic impeachment trial of embattled Chief Justice Renato C. Corona formally started last January 16, 2012 after Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, presiding officer of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, denied for lack of merit Corona’s motion for a preliminary hearing designed to have the complaint dismissed.
Enrile handed down the ruling after the legal counsel of Corona led by former Supreme Court Associate Justice
We are facing the second impeachment trial in our history, this time of the highest leadership of the Judiciary, a branch of government not usually thrown political intrigue.
Impeachment, which forms part of our constitutional system of checks and balances, originated in England and was later adopted by American colonial governments. We subsequently adopted this concept, among numerous others, in our own Constitution.
Academic studies show that, historically speaking, impeachment has been used as a powerful instrument of divided politics.
An impeachment puts into question the legality of a leader and, therefore, results in political instability, especially in presidential impeachment cases. But through the same processes of impeachment, a leader is also given the opportunity to defend himself. If justified, he can regain the political ascendancy necessary to fulfill his responsibilities. Now, this justification rests on the Senate which acts as the jury and judge. In other words, an impeachment trial should not necessarily be seen as mechanism that undermines the Executive or the Judiciary, rather a process which ensures leaders govern without doubts over their legitimacy. It is, admittedly, an extreme recourse but one that incontrovertibly promotes the essence of a democratic system — the consent of the governed.
There had been three impeachment cases in Philippine history: Former President Joseph Estrada, Former Ombudsman Merciditas Gutierrez, and now Chief Justice Renato Corona.
II-Body
The impeachment Trial The historic impeachment trial of embattled Chief Justice Renato C. Corona formally started last January 16, 2012 after Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, presiding officer of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, denied for lack of merit Corona’s motion for a preliminary hearing designed to have the complaint dismissed.
Enrile handed down the ruling after the legal counsel of Corona led by former Supreme Court Associate Justice