EDITORIAL - Moving forward

The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, has spoken. The court has performed its mandate efficiently, with credibility, and with the deliberate haste that the situation called for. With an overwhelming vote of 20-3, senator-judges voted yesterday to convict Renato Corona and remove him as Chief Justice. From his hospital bed, Corona quickly issued a statement, accepting the verdict of a co-equal branch of government.

His historic impeachment was initiated ostensibly in the name of transparency, public accountability, and better administration of justice. Those objectives should be pursued in earnest following his removal from office, a year after Merceditas Gutierrez resigned as ombudsman rather than face an impeachment trial.

President Aquino had earlier said Gutierrez and Corona were major hindrances to the administration’s anti-corruption campaign and good governance initiatives. Now that the two are out of the way, public expectations are higher for the President’s achievement of his objectives. The momentum for reforms must not be dissipated.

The Aquino administration should also not overlook the need for national healing. Corona’s impeachment has been a divisive issue, and perceptions that the executive is trying to undermine the independence of the Supreme Court need to be decisively dispelled. SC justices themselves can strengthen their own institution by showing in the coming weeks that all their decisions are based on blind justice, with no favors owed to anyone.

The nation has survived martial law, the difficult restoration of democracy, and the ouster of two presidents; it will survive the removal of a chief justice through a constitutional process. Such upheavals can leave institutions weakened, but they also offer opportunities for building a better, stronger nation. When we look back at the 44 trial days that led to the removal of Chief Justice Renato Corona, we should remember the period as the beginning of a better judiciary, and a better Philippines.