On the fifth day of his impeachment trial, Chief Justice Renato Corona’s lawyers objected to the presentation of evidence that meant to prove that he had accumulated ill-gotten wealth. They argued that this particular charge is not in any of the original articles of impeachment; hence the evidence offered is irrelevant. Article 2 of the … Read more

In any highly publicized courtroom trial, the biggest beneficiary is the law profession itself.  Nothing advertises the attractions of lawyering more than the sight of virtuosos and novices displaying their flair (or ineptitude) at direct examination, cross-examination and argumentation. For laypeople, this is what law practice is about. As a result of the impeachment drama … Read more

It is worth stepping back from the personalities involved in the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona if only to appreciate the broad issue of institutional maturity that it poses. Our political system, more specifically Congress, is on test here. Can it discharge its power to impeach without being arrogant and arbitrary? Our … Read more

Many reasonable people who are not explicitly for Chief Justice Renato Corona have warned that impeaching a member of the high court, let alone its chief, could undermine the judicial branch of government. If this happens, they say, the rule of law would be weakened. Tyranny would reign. Judges would become timid, leaving no one … Read more

Every devotee who joins the procession of the Black Nazarene comes to offer a pledge (panata), or to honor one previously made.  A panata is deeply personal and is purely voluntary.  Often, it is passed on from generation to generation.  The devotee asks the spirit of the Nazarene to enter the core of his being.  … Read more

At no other time is the line between law and politics more blurred than when Congress holds impeachment proceedings. Charges called “articles of impeachment” are filed. Congressmen don the role of prosecutors, and senators constitute themselves as a jury. They conduct a trial where evidence is presented and evaluated, and witnesses are summoned and questioned. … Read more

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed so many unfit and corrupt people to public office during her presidency that, by this measure alone, she should have been impeached several times over. For, apart from treason, nothing perhaps can be more injurious to the State than to have people like them run the government. Yet, her political allies in … Read more

COUNTDOWN to the first minute of the New Year was a game that my children loved to play when they were younger. The TV would be set to one channel where a digital clock shows the time. The whole family would gather in front of the television, in its conferred role as god of time, … Read more

(Last Dec. 12, I spoke at the lecture series organized by the University of the Philippines in Los Baños to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal.  This is an abridged version of the lecture I gave.) JOSE RIZAL, our national hero, is sometimes referred to as the “first Filipino.”  Though his life … Read more

“Come and say hello to your grandson,” my daughter Jika beckoned to me the other day.  She was caressing her distended belly now fully occupied by the six-month-old fetus growing snugly inside her. My wife put her hand on the spot where it moved beneath the skin, and asked me to feel it. “Xavier, this … Read more