December 13, 2011
Philippines’ Chief Justice impeached
The Philippine Congress impeached the country’s Chief Justice today as allies of President Benigno Aquino lined up behind his drive to root out corruption.
A total of 188 members of the 285-seat House of Representatives lower house signed an impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona(left) on the grounds that he betrayed public trust and violated the constitution.
Aquino accuses Corona and the court of bias in favour of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the focal point of the President’s campaign to eliminate graft.
Corona will go to trial in the Senate upper house next year. Before the outcome of the parliamentary vote was disclosed, he vowed to fight on and uphold the court’s independence.
Legal officials suggest an impeachment could pitch the country into a battle between the executive and the judiciary.But the president’s allies saw the vote as an important moment in exposing what they see as his predecessor’s endemic corruption.
“This is an important step in holding former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo accountable for her crimes against the people,” Teodoro Casino, a leftist member of Congress, said in a statement.
“We need to hold (the Chief Justice) accountable for the long list of anti-people rulings he supported to favour his patron, Arroyo.”
Arroyo, president in 2001-2010 and now a member of Congress, appointed Corona as Chief Justice a week after last year’s election that voted Aquino in but before he actually took power.
Arroyo is under guard at a hospital after her arrest on charges of electoral sabotage. She denies the charges and her lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to overturn an arrest warrant against her.
Corona is the first member of the Philippine Judiciary to be impeached, but lawmakers believe he may resign to avoid embarrassment. In April, the head of the anti-graft agency, an Arroyo ally, resigned after she was also impeached in Congress.
Aquino (right), son of venerated former President Corazon Aquino, remains popular 18 months after
being elected and hopes public opinion will place an additional burden on Corona to quit.
The President says the Supreme Court has blocked efforts to pursue Arroyo after it ruled against the creation of a truth commission on her activities in office. The court also overturned a travel ban imposed by the government on the former President as she was about to fly out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila for medical treatment.
The leader of a small opposition bloc, Edcel Lagman, said the government had offered various funds as inducements to persuade lawmakers to support the impeachment motion.
Aquino’s allies disputed the allegations.Hours before the impeachment vote, Chief Justice Corona talked about a “secret plan to oust me from office by any means fair or foul”, threatening to destroy democratic institutions.
“I want you to know that your chief justice continues to be in command and will lead the fight against any and all who dare to destroy the court and the independence. We shall not meekly walk away,” Corona told a gathering of court employees. – Reuters
If only our own Chief Justice was impeached too.
Now that would be justice.
Impeachment of Chief Justice of a country is serious business and there must sufficient grounds for this action by the Philippine Senate. As long as proper procedures applied in accordance with the constitution, President Aquino should be on safe grounds.One thing is for certain, my point of view and talking some of my friends in Manila, President Aquino is committed to fighting corruption and abuses of power which have plagued his country for decades. One can only wish him all the best in his crusade to restore public trust and confidence in government.–Din Merican
Impeach Abdul Gani Patail first. This A-G must be removed if there is be justice in our country. This won’t happen because Gani is doing the dirty work for the power elite. Good luck to Malaysia.
Mahathir “impeached” Tun Salleh Abas in 1988 without authorisation of Parliament. He even fixed the appointment of judges to ensure that his authoritarian ways would not fall foul of the law. One would have thought that he should be charged in our courts for blatant abuse of power and for emasculating our system of justice.
It can only happen if the government changes from one political party to another. Malaysians need to make the decision to change the government otherwise its business as usual.
One day….Malaysians will get the justice they deserved..
Impeach Abdul Gani Patail first. Gobala
I say NO!!
SACK the idiot NOW.
Malaysians need to make the decision to change the government otherwise its business as usual. – semper fi
Tough call, semper fi.
Because Malaysians are BORN LOSERS…They always vote in their fellow-born losers to rule the country.
Even Mahathir KNOWS Malaysian voters are born losers… read here in Malaysiakini (and below) what he said
I have said this many times on this blog… Malaysian voters were, are, and will always be.. BORN LOSERS.
Proof: Malaysian had NEVER change Government SINCE MERDEKA in 1957… that’s for more than half a century…despite clearcut evidence of endemic high level corruption, cronyism, racist policies, vote-buying, electoral fraud, giving instant citizenship to illegal immigrants to vote for the ruling party, the ABUSE of Postal Votes, the control of media information against Opposition parties.. etc etc etc
….yet the SAME corrupt govt get voted in AT EVERY ELECTION./
The same will happen in the 13th GE to be held soon.
Long Live UMNO-BN
Long Live Frank!
“The person holding the office of the Attorney General … SHALL not be removed from office EXCEPT on the like grounds and in the like manner AS A JUDGE of the Federal Court”: Article 145 (6).
Duh.
Malaysians are not born losers. They just don’t know it.
Impeach the Attorney General?
Nah.., wrong A-G. The Auditor General. Contract will not be renewed that’s all. Don’t you guy’s have the new circular for civil service yet?
It says there “For Born Loser’s Eyes Only”. So i haven’t seen it either.
C’mon Gobala, this UMNO Attorney General is a mighty useful fella to have around, or haven’t you heard?
Is that all you guys gotta show?? This is a serious matter meant to be a subject for serious discourse.
Yup. You can’t show what is not. Reality trumps wishful thinking. Forget about hard work, honesty, integrity, generosity of spirit, stoicism in adversity, perseverance, patience and good old conscience.
We can yell or yodel from the highest hill, but the average Malaysian remains in Feudalistic Limbo. Look at the zillions of ‘Entitled’ driving luxury cars and lust after mansions-in-the-sky in Lembuland, and you will get my drift.
Is that all you guys gotta show?? – scarlet.pimpernel
What is there to show to the Malaysian born losers?? They wouldn’t have a clue what is on show!
Even the bloghost is giving up on the Malaysian born losers. He is now posting MORE issues with nothing to do on Malaysia.
I agree it is useless talking about Malaysian issues because the born losers (read Malaysian voters) are going to vote in the same bunch of corrupt and crony-fanatics back to govt again and again.
The more you load facts to born losers, the more confused they are and the more confused they are, the more they vote the same idiots back to be in govt.
Long live the Malaysian born losers.
Do you know WHY the Malaysian born losers are going to vote in Najib again as Prime Minister and let UMNO run this country again in the next GE.
Because they really believe that God/Allah is on the side of UMNO.
You think I am joking… read here, God is pleased with Umno’s track record”
Najib then old the pack of hard-core born losers (read PEKIDA) :
Then he told this group of hard core born-losers to go spread the message to all the other Malaysian born-losers, like you and me:
Long live UMNO-BN and the hard-core born losers.
… and you want to puke by Najib’s clarion call to the hard core born losers. go ahead.
It will make no difference because the majority of the born losers are still going to vote in Najib and UMNO in the next GE because THEY do really believe God/Allah is on the side of UMNO.
Didn’t you read…UMNO is the defender of Islam and the the defender of the Protector of Islam ie the Malay Rulers. Wasn’t it an UMNO politician who said Malay=Islam? There you go.
Long Live UMNO-BN for the better future of the Malaysian born losers
“Even the bloghost is giving up on the Malaysian born losers. He is now posting MORE issues with nothing to do on Malaysia.” FRANK
Also Dato’s fixation with everything lembu is exhausting. Even Tok Cik has fallen victim to lembu fatigue. He doesn’t know whether to sembelih the lembu or ride it.