A House leader has admitted that President Benigno Aquino III has a hand in the impeachment case against Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In an interview, House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said that it was President Aquino who convinced the leaders of the coalition in the House of Representatives to support the impeachment case.

But Gonzales denied the allegation of the Minority that lawmakers signed the impeachment in exchange for the release of the Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel.

“Those were irresponsible statements by Edcel Lagman. He could not just say that some majority members approached him to tell him they were forced into signing the complaint,” Gonzales said.

According to Lagman, many of the administration allies in the House were blackmailed into signing the impeachment complaint threatening those who would refuse to sign with the deprivation of their PDAF and other funding releases for their respective districts.

Gonzales said that the administration received reports that the joint Department of Justice-Commission on Elections panel will be declared unconstitutional by the SC.

“Hindi iyon dahil napikon si presidente, pinag-aralan niyang mabuti ang mga kaso and he came to the conclusion na walang kahihinatnan, and there are implications to the cases that are being filed by the government,” Gonzales said.

“It can’t be that every time the government will file a case before the SC, it will be quashed. Under the circumstances, what will the President do?” he added.

On Monday, 188 lawmakers from the Liberal Party, National Unity Party, Nacionalista Party, and Nationalist People’s Coalition, easily sent the resolution of impeachment to the Senate. Nine of the 11-man prosecution panel were elected yesterday.

They are: Iloilo Rep Niel Tupas Jr., Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tanada, Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, Occidental Mindoro Reynaldo Umali, Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Agabao, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares and Akbayan Rep. Arlene Bag-ao.

The House will elect two more members.