Was retired Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas forced to quit as lead defence council for the Chief Justice Renato Corona impeachment trial?
In the PDI report 83 year old Justice Serafin was approached by someone from Malacañang and asked to leave the defense team. In exchange withdrawal, the kidnapping case against sacked National Bureau of Investigation chief Magtanggol Gatdula, his co-member in the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), would be dropped.
“That is not true. I did not say anything like that. I deny that,” Cuevas reportedly said.
A presidential spokesperson has also come forward with a statement on Monday saying “former justice Cuevas’ fantastic claims as carried in the media, and his subsequent denial, are classic attempts to distract from the substance of the issues” from the impeachment trial proceedings,“How was Chief Justice Corona able to acquire his assets, given what he has reported on his income?”
He noted that Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares’ testimony on Corona’s Income Tax Returns (ITR) earlier has not been rebutted by the defense.
“We hope Justice Cuevas will give as much emphasis to his retraction as he did to his initial claim,” Lacierda added.
Dirty politics in the Philippines how original.
