THE 11-man House prosecution panel yesterday expressed strong confidence that the Senate Impeachment Court will pursue the “search for truth” and not allow legal technicalities to hinder the impeachment case against Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo, spokesman for the prosecution panel, said they expect the senator-judges to guard the impeachment proceedings against the “whims and caprices” of defense lawyers, who are out to raise all sorts of objections just to prevent the truth from coming out.

“Among lawyers, we were always taught that if you want to hide something, use all technicalities that you can raise to prevent its disclosure,” Quimbo said, as he pointed out how the defense vigorously objected to the prosecution’s presentation of Corona’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) and the titles and deeds of sale to his undeclared real estate properties.

Quimbo said: “It’s frustrating since this is certainly non-controversial considering that they are public documents. Even the SALN which came from the respondent’s (Corona) office was being objected to. I hope the defense stops putting roadblocks that prevent us from getting to the truth.”

Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III said the Senate has to be more liberal in applying the rules in the impeachment trial, particularly in admitting evidence pertaining to Corona’s ill-gotten wealth.

“The prosecution must not be prevented from presenting as much evidence as possible before the impeachment court, not only to convince the senator-judges of the truthfulness of the allegations against Mr. Corona but more importantly to satisfy the public’s thirst for truth and justice,” said Tañada.

The House prosecution panel pushed for a more liberal application of rules during the impeachment trial after some senators expressed reservations over the admissibility of prosecution evidence showing that Corona has acquired high-priced real estate properties, which he either failed to include or did not correctly declare in his SALN for the years 2002 to 2010.

The defense panel, on the other hand, has repeatedly objected to the presentation of evidence on the ill-gotten wealth, arguing that it was not properly alleged in the Articles of Impeachment filed against the chief justice with the Senate.