the indiscriminate, deliberate, and illegal machinations of some parties
who have been less than forthright with this court and its members in
presenting dubiously procured and misleading documents which were
spread to the media obviously to influence this court and the public’s
opinion.^122
Another senator–judge (who voted to acquit) similarly criticized the constant
appeal to public opinion at the expense of evidentiary strictures:
The crucial issues that have piqued the interest of the Senator–Judges,
as well as the public, were outside the original ambit of the impeach-
ment complaint and have been brought forth only after its filing.
Evidence in some of these issues came from questionable sources,
beginning with the unidentified little lady to documents anonymously
left on gates and in mailboxes.
At the expense of thesub judicerule, evidence had been presented to the
public on several occasions even before they were formally offered before
this Court. Worse, information was grossly exaggerated with the apparent
intention to predispose the public mind against the chief justice.^123
Even after the Senate had already voted to remove Chief Justice Corona, there
remained pending challenges to the validity of the impeachment charges and the
integrity of the proceedings, but the court declared them moot and declined to
exercise its power of judicial review.
124
On the surface, this might appear merely as history’s karmic revenge, the use
against an Arroyo ally of precisely the same legalistic maneuvers as she had
deployed against her enemies. In constitutional law, however, it was not just more
of the same thing. It marks a possible turning point toward the enforcement of
public accountability through political – not judicial – processes and toward
political leadership, with genuine political mandate, making the constitution work.
vi. recourse to formalism, and prospects for
substantive debateIn 1928 , Holmes chastised the Philippine Supreme Court inSpringerv.Philippine
Islands for its mechanistic notion that constitutional powers are drawn
in “black and white” and designed with “mathematical precision [in]
(^122) Speech of Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile explaining his verdict on Chief Justice
Renato Corona (May 29 , 2012 ).
(^123) Speech of Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr explaining his verdict on Chief Justice Renato
Corona (May 29 , 2012 ).
(^124) CJ Coronav.Senate;Lihaylihayv.House of Representatives, G.R. 199509 (September 11 ,
2012 ).