In 2012, the Inquirer came out with a barrage of articles against the late Chief Justice Renato Corona. When the formal articles of impeachment was presented at the Senate, it was whittled down to only three because of the lack of basis for the others.
[In reference to the Manila Times article P8 billion to P21billion DAP funds missing.]
There was no way that the Senate could’ve voted to convict on the basis of the evidence as it was “discovered” as the trial was ongoing by Harvey Keh and Congressman Jorge Banal. This was how Kaya Natin came to fore nationally through notoriety.
But 2012 was the second Aquino renaissance coming on the heels of the hated Macapagal Arroyo administration. It was like 1986 all over again. Aquino and Abad understood that an acquittal would leave them with eggs on their collective faces given that even if the public had been riled up to the point they deemed Corona guilty, the Senators could still acquit him.
So the fix was put in. What sealed Corona’s fate was his ill-advised testimony at the Senate which was an appeal to emotion rather than a statement of facts.
In the end, and how ironic was the composition, only Senators Arroyo, Santiago and Marcos voted to acquit. Their explanation of their votes was recorded for posterity.
It was all downhill for the Aquino administration after Corona’s conviction. Their next targets were the Senator’s themselves, those who could prove to be stumbling blocks in the 2016 campaign. Charged were filed against Senators Enrile, Estrada and Revilla for the pork barrel scam. The demolition of Vice-President Jojo Binay also began in earnest.
Then Yolanda, the BBL and Mamasapano came along and the Aquino adminstration was in a downward spiral all the way to the May 2016 polls. PeNoy had proven to all and sundry that he was an expert on how to waste valuable political capital on political vendetta and political patronage.
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RG San Luis as posted on Facebook.
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