Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. on Friday invoked the conviction of former Chief Justice Renato Corona to stress that impeachment must rest on evidence, particularly alleged failures to fully disclose statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs).
The lawmaker issued the statement in relation to the fourth impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte before the House of Representatives.
Abante, who endorsed the complaint, said the Corona case demonstrated that impeachment proceedings ultimately hinge on compliance with constitutional requirements, despite their political nature.
“During the time of Chief Justice Corona, only one charge led to his conviction. He was not able to declare all his assets in his SALN,” Abante said, referring to the 2012 Senate impeachment trial.
Corona was convicted after the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, voted 20–3 under Article II of the Articles of Impeachment for culpable violation of the Constitution.
The ruling cited his failure to declare about $2 million and P80 million in deposits in his SALN.
Abante raised the comparison as he discussed allegations in the complaint against Duterte, including the alleged failure to truthfully and fully declare assets, liabilities and net worth.
Partisan moves
For Abante, impeachment proceedings, while political in structure, must be grounded in proof. “Impeachment proceedings are political, but they are about evidence. They are about facts,” he said.
He cautioned against reducing the process to partisan maneuvering and stressed that lawmakers and senators must evaluate the evidence presented.
Corona’s impeachment in 2012 remains one of the most consequential and controversial accountability cases in Philippine political history and continues to shape debates over impeachment standards.
Following the trial, controversy persisted. In September 2013, then-Senator Jinggoy Estrada alleged that senators who voted to convict Corona received P50 million each, describing the funds as an “incentive” or “appeal,” not a bribe.
Other senators acknowledged that funds had been released but denied any link to the impeachment verdict.
‘Political vendetta’
In January 2014, then-Senator Bong Revilla claimed that former President Benigno Aquino III and his allies personally sought his vote to convict Corona. Malacañang confirmed meetings with senators but denied pressuring them to convict.
After Corona’s death in 2016, the Sandiganbayan dismissed pending criminal cases against him. In November 2022, the anti-graft court also dismissed the final case involving Corona’s estate, ruling that his income and assets were sufficiently explained.
The decision, which became final in January 2023, stressed that the SALN is a tool for public transparency and “never a weapon for political vendetta.”