AMID warnings of dire consequences for the Supreme Court and the judiciary, the House Prosecution panel will still present SC Associate Justices to testify in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

One of the panel spokespersons, Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, clarified that they want the Associate Justices to be called not to destroy the image of the High Tribunal but to shed light on the issues involving Corona.

According to Quimbo, the prosecution panel is also flexible and can allow different manners of presentation of evidence by witnesses in an “executive session.”

“Like we said from the very beginning, this is not an attack on the judiciary. Hindi ito batikos para tuligsain ang lahat ng miyembro ng Hudikatura pero may mga bagay na sa tingin namin dapat mailabas sa ganoong pamamaraan,” Quimbo said.

“We are open to the different manners through which pwede silang mag-testify. Pwedeng off camera yan, ibig sabihin, executive session, kung ito’y gusto,” Quimbo added.

Over the week-end, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman expressed objection to the inclusion of the justices in the over 100 witnesses of the prosecution.

Lagman said the entire SC is being threatened as the testimonies of the justices can be used against them in the threatened impeachment cases involving their colleagues. He said the prosecution move would also violate the time-honored confidentiality of the deliberation of the justices on cases.

The 13 Justices in the list of prosecution witnesses will shed light on the allegation that Corona abused his power in connection with the different decisions of the High Tribunal.

The justices are Jose Perez, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Jose Mendoza, Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Bienvenido Reyes, Roberto Abad, Martin Villarama, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Mariano del Castillo, Antonio Carpio, Presbiterio Velasco Jr. and Arturo Brion.

As the prosecution panel wraps up Article 2 of the impeachment trial against Chief Justice Renato Corona, it has begun preparing for Article 3 which will be the next case to be discussed.

Yesterday, Presiding Justice and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile allowed the prosecution panel to change the order of article to present witnesses and evidence. However, he ordered them not to change the sequence anymore.

The new order now is Article 2, Article 3, Article 7, Article 1, Article 8 Article 4, Article 5 and Article 6.

Article 3 is Corona’s alleged failure “to meet and observe the stringent standards under the Constitution requiring a member of the judiciary to be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence in allowing the SC to act on mere letters filed by a counsel which caused the issuance of flip-flopping decisions in final and executory cases; in creating an excessive entanglement with Mrs. Arroyo through her appointment of his wife to office; and in discussing with litigants cases pending in the SC.”          Jester P. Manalastas