Honasan: CJ guilty

MANILA, Philippines – Sen Gregorio Honasan voted guilty on Tuesday, May 29.

It was a difficult choice, he said, based on compassion, based on personal experience. Formerly accused for being involved in coup attempts, he said, “I know what it is like to have my family maligned.”

But impeachment is not about emotions or partisan politics, the senator noted. This is about the highest magistrate in the highest court of the land — whether he is fit to head it and whether his integrity is beyond doubt and whether his understanding of the law beyond question.

“An institution is only as strong as its leader,” Honasan said.

“We have not proven that the defendeant is corrupt or malicious… What is clear is that he is not longer fit to preside over the highest court of the land…Doubt is the opposite of faith.”

Honasan declared, “I vote to ask the Chief Justice to step down from the pedestal” but wished him “strength and honor.”

In the past

Honasan told the Inquirer previously Corona should not have walked out and initially signed a conditional waiver. “Whether it’s in a normal court proceeding or the impeachment trial, I cannot imagine a situation where a witness imposes a condition on the judge and the prosecutors.”

Honasan said he considered public opinion in making a verdict. “You have to factor in evidence, testimonies, proof. But it’s a political process. Ultimately, you have to factor in what will be good for the country.”

Honasan is a re-electionist and has been named an official senatorial candidate of UNA. He belongs to the Enrile bloc in the Senate. – Rappler.com

Click on the links below for more Rappler stories on the senator-judges’ verdict. 

• Defensor-Santiago, Miriam: ‘Not guilty’
• Revilla, Ramon Jr.: ‘Guilty’
• Lapid: CJ guilty
• Marcos: acquit Corona
• Arroyo: ‘Not guilty’
• Angara: ‘Guilty’
• #CoronaTrial: How the senators voted [with VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS]