Philippines chief justice faces impeachment trial

A historic impeachment trial of the Philippines' top judge began on Monday in one of President Benigno Aquino's boldest yet most divisive moves to tackle the nation's pervasive corruption. Members of the 23-person Senate sat as judges to determine whether Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona should be removed from his post and become the highest-profile scalp yet in Aquino's anti-graft crusade. "We cannot expect Corona to be a sterling example of good governance," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told AFP just before the start of the trial, which is expected to take months. "Removing him would be a vital cog in the president's fight against corruption." Aquino won a landslide election victory in 2010 largely on a platform to end the corruption which has plagued the Philippines for decades and which he says got worse under the decade-long reign of his predecessor, Gloria Arroyo. Arroyo, 64, was arrested in November last year on charges of rigging the 2007 senatorial elections and is now awaiting trial in a military hospital where she is being treated for what she says is a rare spinal illness. Aquino then marshalled his allies in Congress to impeach Corona, 63, last month largely over allegations that as top judge he had tried to protect Arroyo from prosecution, but also for alleged personal corruption. Arroyo installed Corona, her former chief of staff, to the top judicial post shortly before she stepped down as president in a move that Aquino said ignored a constitutional ban on "midnight appointments" by outgoing leaders. Public opinion polls show Aquino enjoys overwhelming backing for his anti-graft efforts and the bachelor president is widely regarded as himself not being corrupt. However his critics and even some supporters say Aquino has been employing unnecessarily bruising tactics. Some have also accused him of overstepping constitutional boundaries while going after Corona, and say his attack on the chief justice has dangerously weakened the independence of the judiciary. Corona, who has repeatedly accused Aquino of trying to move the Philippines towards a dictatorship, made a defiant speech on Monday morning to hundreds of court employees who remain loyal to him. "My foes are strong and influential. They are using government agencies to pin me down," he told a rally at the Supreme Court compound. "I have not wronged the president. I have not wronged the public. I have not stolen anything from anyone." In an earlier television interview, he said "only death" could remove him from his post. The Philippines has a turbulent recent history of dictatorship, revolutions and military coup attempts, and Corona's strong words reinforce concerns that the impeachment trial may be raising political tensions to a dangerous level. However the military has so far stood behind Aquino, the son of democracy heroes who were pivotal in overthrowing 1980s dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The constitution requires a two-thirds endorsement of the senators, or 16, for Corona to become the first Philippine chief justice ever to be sacked. So far, only about eight have showed signs they will vote against Corona, and in a political culture where expediency often trumps values, no one in the Philippines can predict with certainty the final outcome. The varied backgrounds of some of the senator-judges also reflect the colourful side of Philippine politics. Among them are Marcos' son, the dictator's former defence minister now aged 87, two former failed coup plotters, an ex-police chief once accused of murder, three former action movie stars and a comedian.