THE Movement 188, composed of lawmakers who signed the impeachment complaint, has accused the camp of Chief Justice Renato Corona of being behind the plan to impeach President Benigno Aquino III.

In a statement, Movement 188 said that the defense team is “salivating” for a fishing expedition with the impeach-Aquino move.

The lawmakers stressed President Aquino has no involvement in the sale of a government-owned land in Baguio City. They said Aquino was not even a member yet of the House of Representatives at the time of the sale.

“It is the height of absurdity for one apparent Corona stooge to move for the President’s impeachment in connection with a government project that was sealed in 1997 when Mr. Aquino was not even in Congress yet,” Movement 188 said.

“Besides, before unduly linking President Aquino to this land sale, the complainant still has to prove that there was any hanky panky in this project, which a real estate developer won through a public bidding held 20 years ago,” the group added.

The lawmakers likewise said that the defense team is desperate to divert the public’s attention especially after the bank accounts of Corona which were not truthfully disclosed in Corona’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN), were revealed in the impeachment court.

“Realizing that the prosecution has succeeded in uncovering this ugly truth despite the nonstop dilatory and diversionary tactics employed by the defense lawyers to suppress the presentation of damning evidence, the Corona camp is now resorting to out-of-court tactics to divert national attention from the CJ’s litany of sins that makes him no longer morally fit to remain in office,” they said.

A certain Danilo Lihaylihay asked the House minority bloc to have Aquino impeached for committing “massive tax evasion fraud and graft and corrupt practices” in the P500-million sale to SM Investments of a big property known as “Governor’s Park” located along Session Road in Baguio City.

The complainant said this deal was grossly disadvantageous to the government because this property allegedly has a current value of P1.9 billion.

Lihaylihay was one of the petitioners in the separate motions filed last December before the Supreme Court to stop the Senate impeachment court from trying the Chief Jutice. 
Jester P. Manalastas