THE House prosecution panel asked the impeachment court to subpoena four cameramen of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. who will  testify on the alleged favors given by Chief Justice Renato Corona to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The testimony of Danny Piedad, Jay Salonga, Ruben Bautista and Nestor Conato will be part of the Article VII of the verified impeachment complaint.

The prosecutors wanted them to appear on February 21, as the panel will start presenting Article VII of the impeachment complaint which is “granting a temporary restraining order (TRO) to Mrs. Arroyo and husband Jose Miguel Arroyo in order to give them an opportunity to escape prosecution and to frustrate the ends of justice and distorting the Supreme Court decision on the effectivity of the TRO in view of a clear failure to comply with the conditions of the SC’s own TRO.”

The witnesses will identify and authenticate the video recordings on several issues such as the attempted escape of Arroyo couple on February 15, 2011, the statements of the Public Information Office of the SC relating to the TRO, the manner of securing payment of bond, statements made by lawyers of Arroyo.

Conato will also be asked to testify on his personal knowledge of the press briefing conducted by SPD Acting Director S/Supt. James Bucayo on the release of the warrant of  arrest for Arroyo.

The prosecution panel accused Corona of interfering in the job of the Department of Justice by stopping the implementation of the Watchlist Order against Arroyo barring them from leaving the country.

The High Tribunal issued a TRO on the DoJ’s order allowing Arroyo to leave the country and seek medical treatment to her rare disease.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court clerk of court Enriquetta Vidal was requested again to testify in the impeachment trial regarding her personal knowledge on the “speedy processing of the petitions of Arroyo and the extension of working hours of the Supreme Court on 15 November 2011.”