The country’ association of major superiors of religious women urged Chief
Justice Renato Corona to allow the opening of his dollar accounts for the sake
of transparency and accountability.
The religious
body in a statement has expressed disappointment on the Supreme Court’s issuance
of temporary restraining order (TRO) that prevented the Senate Court from
obtaining the dollar accounts of Corona.
On February 9, the
High Tribunal issued a TRO on the Senate acting as an Impeachment Court,
preventing it to secure the foreign currency accounts owned by CJ Corona,
citing RA 6426, section 8.
“This issuance
of the Temporary Restraining Order by the Supreme Court is indeed disappointing
since the Impeachment Trial is an invaluable political process to restore,
renew and strengthen the integrity, transparency and accountability of the
Judiciary and Philippine governance,” the religious superiors said.
What is doubly
disheartening, according to the group, was the acquiescence of the Senator
judges who voted to obey the Court’s TRO.
By obeying the
TRO, the women superiors averred, the Senator Judges sitting in Impeachment
court have acknowledged “the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court over them but it
is clear in the Constitution that the Senate Court is supreme in matters
regarding impeachment.”
“And the only
question they should have asked themselves before voting was: “Will the TRO
serve to discover the TRUTH or will it hinder it?” the superiors said, adding that the answer to
the question is obvious.
Corona has been
questioning the constitutionality of the impeachment trial claiming that it is
a violation of his human rights.
But the
religious body in its statement also hit the Chief Justice for his lack of
“delicadeza” in asking the Supreme Court Justices, who are directly under him,
“for protection and solace.”
Far
from being a battle between the Judiciary and the Executive branches of the
government, the impeachment trial “is a political process to protect the
integrity, transparency and accountability of a democratic government, [and]
essentially, [….that] of CJ Corona,” the group said.
“We therefore implore
Chief Justice Renato Corona to listen to the stirrings of truth, justice and respect the Senate Court and the impeachment
proceedings,” the group furthered.
It
also urged the Senate Judges to remain firm in their task of pursuing the truth
while maintaining their independence as an impeachment body.
The
group said that “each and every Filipino citizen is asked to act with
integrity, to maintain a sense of decency and honesty, and to be held
accountable for actions which have grave ramifications on the common good.”
“We
ask no less of a Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona,” it said.
The Association
of Major Religious Superiors of Women in the Philippines (AMRSWP) is an
assembly of 275 women religious congregations.
(CBCPNews)
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