Motion to inhibit more political than legal

The motion filed by the defense to inhibit Senator Frank Drilon as Senator-Judge in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona is more political than legal. It aims to get people’s sympathy and support by giving the impression of an alleged bias or partiality of a member of the Impeachment Court (IC).

For sure, the defense knows that Drilon will not inhibit himself from the trial. Neither does the defense expect the IC to approve such motion and bar its own members from exercising a constitutionally mandated function in a body having “the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.”

The motion to inhibit is perceived as a clever move by the defense to indirectly influence and convey to the public the defense’s repeated position that Drilon is a biased judge favoring the prosecution. The move could also be interpreted that the defense is sending a message to all senator-judges to exercise due diligence and caution in exercising their function to insure their impartiality and non-partisanship in any stage of the proceedings.