The prosecution panel from the House of Representatives hailed on Tuesday as a "victory for accountability, transparency and the rule of law" the decision of the Senate, sitting as the impeachment court, to convict Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.
The prosecution said the removal from office of the chief magistrate "heralds a new beginning for the judiciary whose image has been tarnished in the course of the chief justice's impeachment, as well as provides a big boost to the Aquino administration's campaign to cleanse the bureaucracy of graft and corruption."
"This is the start of putting our Republic back in order for we did not convict a man but rather we saved our institutions from grievous harm of corruption and betrayal of public trust," said House Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo "Erin" Tanada III, one of the spokesmen for the prosecution.
"We showed our determination towards transparency and good governance with this verdict," he stressed.
Tanada said that in carrying out the very first verdict of conviction in an impeachment trial, the Senate has shown to "our people and the world that our country is politically mature and ready to forge ahead in our fight for transparency and accountability in our democratic processes."
For his part, Aurora Rep. Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, also spokesman for the prosecution, said much more remains to be done by the government to ensure transparency, accountability and adherence to the rule of law, which are all key to good governance.
Angara expressed hope that the chief justice's conviction would pave the way for the restoration of the people's faith in the institutions.
"We are hopeful that this historic decision of the Senate impeachment court will help restore the people's faith in the judiciary and in government," he said.
"We hope it is not just a change of personnel but a change in mindset and a change in the way things are done in government," he added.
Tanada congratulated the entire nation "not because we convicted Renato Corona, but because we were able to stop the downward spiral of our judiciary into a morass of corruption."
"Today we, as a people showed the world that our country is politically mature and ready to forge ahead in our fight for transparency and accountability and most importantly strengthen our democratic processes," said Tanada in a statement.
"It is unfortunate that we have to go through this process to achieve political maturity, but it must be done if we need to join the family of democratic, transparent states," he said.
"The conviction of the chief justice is a referendum on the political agenda of President (Benigno) 'Noynoy' Aquino (III), especially his anti-corruption drive. With the Senate convicting the chief justice, the people are behind President Aquino's administration," he noted.
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