CHIEF Justice Renato Corona should consider himself lucky because he has as presiding officer at his impeachment trial Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who is “impartial,” deposed former President Joseph Estrada said yesterday.

Estrada pointed this out in a chance interview at the Senate when asked to differentiate between his impeachment trial in 2000 and Corona’s. The former movie actor-turned politician dropped by the Senate for a television interview and opted not to sit in the gallery to watch Corona’s trial. 

Estrada was impeached by the House of Representatives in December 2000 after they submitted to the Senate four Articles of Impeachment such as bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.

“The only difference is the presiding officer. Kasi ‘yung dating presiding officer, by the name of Hilario Davide, was part of the conspiracy to remove me,” he said. Estrada’s trial lasted for 23 days – which started on Dec. 7, 2000, and ended on Jan. 16, 2001. 

“It’s quite slow. Siguro, it’s just the start.  Maybe by next week, it would be faster. One thing I want to say is that CJ (Chief Justice) Corona is very fortunate than me because the presiding officer, Senate President Enrile is very impartial,” Estrada said. The former president and Enrile belong to the same political party, Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP).   

Then Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and then Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. sat as the presiding officers during Estrada’s trial. Under the Constitution, if the president is the one being impeached, it is the Supreme Court head and the Senate chief who must preside over the impeachment procedure. 

However, the chief magistrate would have no voting power during the resolution of an impeachment case involving a president. The Senate president, on the other hand, is the one tasked to oversee the impeachment process of justices and other officials of constitutional bodies sought to be removed.   

Asked to elaborate, Estrada said: “In my case, hindi tinapos ‘yung trial. Ito naman (kay Corona) tatapusin because Enrile said he will not allow any walk-out (of any member of the prosecution and defense panels). Kailangan magkaroon ng closure, of course. Any man accused in court must be given the chance to defend himself in court.”

The prosecution panel during Estrada’s impeachment trial walked out after majority of the senators voted not to open an envelope supposedly containing evidence against him.

He stressed the need to finish the impeachment trial of Corona “to correct the mistake” supposedly committed by senator-judges, the defense and prosecution panels during his impeachment trial in 2000. “My trial which was aborted. The presiding officer is very impartial and hopefully the trial would be finished to find out the truth,” he said.