MANILA, Philippines – Former Senator Rene Saguisag on Tuesday reminded senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona not to set a bad by humiliating a fellow lawyer in public.

“It’s not the task of a judge to humiliate a fellow lawyer,” Saguisag said during an interview with dzMM.

Saguisag was referring to last week’s incident where Senator-judge Miriam Defensor-Santiago berated private prosecutor Arthur Lim for engaging her in a colloquy when she asked if the impeachment complaint accuses Corona of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

“Inubos yung oras sa kakasabon doon sa prosekusyon,” said Saguisag.

The human rights lawyer also quoted a Spanish saying “la cortesia no quita la valentia” or “courtesy does not detract from valor”.

“Matapang ka, matigas ka, pero you can be courteous at the same time. Pero kung babastusin mo ang kapwa abugado, ang daming nanonood dyan--[it] sets, to me, a bad example,” he said.

Saguisag said that during his time, “judges and elder lawyers would be patient with us, guide us, would teach us and would never humiliate us”.

“Pero kung hihiyain mo, hindi yun ang nasa canon of ethics namin. Yan ay ginigiya mo, pinangangaralan mo, inaakay mo, dahil you were young once,” he said.

Five “P’s”

But if there’s any lesson to be learned from all this is that lawyers should always come prepared. Saguisag said he always reminds his students to remember the five “P’s”-- Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Dapat maging aral sa mga estudyante sa mga lawyers ang five P’s dahil kahit anong galing mo, kapag di ka nag-prepare, sasabog,” he said.

Saguisag said the impeachment court should also subpoena the records of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) as well as the travel records of the Coronas.

“Ano ba ang mga lumabas doon dahil ang mga lumabas noon, balita ko, may mga kamaganak na tumestify against him. Dapat malaman yan. Gusto ko din makita kung anong travel record sa Bureau of Immigration....May karapatan din ang bayan na makita ang travel records of all the justices kasi they never tell us what they went abroad for [and] at whose expense,” he said.

Where did the JDF go?

He said the impeachment case might be able to show that the Supreme Court, instead of being a co-equal branch of government, is “higher than the two other departments [legislature and executuve]."

“Talagang hindi mo mapa-account sa billions na Judiciary Development Fund,” he said.

Established under Presidential Decree 1949, Saguisag said the JDF was meant to improve the benefits of the rank-and-file in the judiciary as well as its infrastructure.

“I have mga hundreds of students pinakuha ko yang SALN at JDF accounting---bokya, denied,” he said.

Saguisag said the country’s capital, Metro Manila, does not have “a decent court house”.

“Nakakahiya. Hanggang ngayon hindi sila maka-account. Ang magandang court house lang itong Republic of Makati ni Jojo Binay. Napakaganda talaga doon, state of the art yun,” he said.

P10M discount

Meanwhile, Saguisag said Corona violated the law when he accepted the P10 million in discounts given to him by Megaworld, the developer of The Bellagio at The Fort.

“Under rule 504 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, bawal ang mahistrado or any member of his family na tumanggap ng kahit anong pabor or gift.”

“Kaya yun [ay] in violation of the Canon of Judicial Conduct--on the part of the chief justice, on the part of Megaworld, and on the part of his pro-bono [defense] lawyers,” said Saguisag.

The Coronas bought the penthouse unit at P14.5 million, P10 lower than the usual P24 million cost for a similar property, taking into consideration several factors such as alleged damages, market conditions and the payment scheme by the clients.

Saguisag said Corona should pay for the services of his defense lawyers since the canon of judicial conduct prohibits him from receiving of such favors.