CONGRESSIONAL allies of President Benigno Aquino III in the Liberal Party yesterday said they can deliver an overwhelming vote to impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona at the proper time amid questions on his impartiality in handling cases involving former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Although the House Majority has not yet decided on the possibility of impeaching Corona, Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya Jr. said they would unite in impeaching Corona, especially if there are sufficient grounds to send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate Impeachment Court.

“I can only speak for the LP. The party has processes in handling issues such as this. After going through the required process and after thorough consultation with all LP members of the House, then my personal guess is that pessimistically we can get sufficient support or optimistically get overwhelming support if ever the decision is to impeach the SC justice,” Abaya, LP secretary-general and chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said in an interview.

Last Monday, President Aquino charged during his speech delivered before the First National Criminal Justice Summit held at the Manila Hotel that Corona is indebted to Mrs. Arroyo being the latter’s midnight appointee.

Aquino questioned the impartiality of Corona in deciding cases involving Mrs. Arroyo, currently detained at Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on electoral sabotage charges.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello agreed with Abaya. “We have the numbers to impeach him (Corona) in the House, but we still have to decide whether to pursue this course of action.”

“I think his actions in the next few weeks will determine this. If the decisions he promotes continue to be brazenly biased in favor of his former boss, then he will only have himself to blame for drawing the wrath of the representatives of the people,” said Bello.

But Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tanada III and House Deputy Majority Leader and Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo said any talk of impeaching Corona is premature, saying an impeachment complaint has yet to be filed.

“First of all, there has to be a complaint. The complaint should be clear and understandable that CJ Corona violated the Constitution. Without a complaint at this time, it further adds to all the speculation,” said Tanada, spokesman of LP.

Quimbo agreed. “I think it is premature to make any discussion regarding the Chief Justice’s impeachment considering that no complaint has been filed yet.”

“Let it be said, however, that Congress has always acted independenly from any imposition. It will decide on the basis of facts and evidence presented to it, not on the basis of any political party or alliance imposition,” said Quimbo, LP’s deputy spokesman.