MANILA, Philippines — “It is not only embattled Chief Justice Renato C. Corona who is on trial. We all are.’’

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter S. Cayetano stressed this on Saturday as the nation awaits the opening Monday, January 16, of the impeachment trial of the Chief Justice who is charged with betraying public trust and for being allegedly one-sided in his court decisions favoring former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, among other charges.

“I think the Senate will be as much on trial as the judiciary in proving its impartiality as an institution. It’s not only a judicial process, if not being a criminal or administrative case, but also a political process. We can be political but at the same time remain impartial,” he said.

On Monday, the Senate will act as an impeachment court and begin the trial by disposing of the motion of the Corona defense panel that the eight-article impeachment complaint filed against him by the House of Representatives is fatally flawed.

Dismissal of the Corona motion would set into motion the trial of the Chief Justice, where the 23 senator-judges will make a judgment either to convict or acquit him.

Exactly 43 hours before the start of his impeachment trial at 2 p.m. Monday, the Chief Justice, at 7 o’clock last night, stood pat on his earlier decision not to resign his post or go on leave of absence.

 “I will face the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, on Monday and I will prove to the Filipino people that I did no wrong,” Corona said after the last day of the nine-day novena masses held at the front yard of the Supreme Court (SC) in Ermita, Manila.

Reiterating his earlier statement, Corona said: “Lahat na itinaya ko na dito. Hindi na para sa akin ito, para na ito sa demokrasya.”

While Sen. Joker Arroyo estimated that the trial might last a month, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III expected the trial to last up to March 23, the day the Senate and the House go on a six-week Lenten break.

Cayetano stressed the importance of impartiality of the Senate as an impeachment court because, to him, “if it can have an impartial hearing, then it will show that the Constitution works and senators can go beyond politics.”

He, likewise, said that the impeachment trial of the Chief Justice could also be considered a trial for all three branches of government to see if they could multi-task and deliver promised reforms despite being preoccupied with the impeachment.

Cayetano pointed out that as the Senate does its part – holding sessions in the morning and committee hearings on its supposed days off – the executive and the judiciary must also step up and work as hard.

“The Executive has to do its part by continuing to deliver the projects and being more prepared and pro-active. This is also a challenge to the Supreme Court that even if the Chief Justice is on trial, the reforms that we’re expecting from the Judiciary should push through and should go in an even faster pace,” he said.

He called on all three branches of the government to use this opportunity to prove themselves to the Filipino people.

“It is very important that our countrymen feel that their government is fully functional, and that programs and projects are being pushed even if the Senate is busy with the impeachment,” he said.

Sen. Ralph Recto said the impeachment trial of the Chief Justice has to be swift so that it won't drag down the economy.

He said the soonest the Senate could dispose of the Corona case, the soonest the country could move forward to face more challenges.

With less than 48 hours before the start of the much-awaited trial, the entire prosecution team held their mass Saturday afternoon at the Ateneo College chapel in Quezon City.

Among those who attended the mass were House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and almost all members of the prosecution team and spokespersons.

Meanwhile, spokespersons of the prosecution team said the impeachment trial will further strengthen the High Court and is needed to fortify the quality of democracy in the country.

Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, spokesperson of the 11-man House prosecution panel, said SC spokesman and Court Administrator Midas Marquez was wrong when he claimed that the SC would collapse as the country’s last bulwark of democracy once the impeachment trial starts on Monday, Jan. 16.

“We believe that after the impeachment trial, the Supreme Court and other institutions in the country will become strong, robust, and solid, as well as democracy in general. It will not crumble because this process is about transparency and accountability of public officials,” said Angara, son of Senator-judge Edgardo Angara.

House Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, another spokesperson for the prosecution team, expressed strong belief that the SC will remain unaffected by the impeachment proceedings, considering that it is only Corona’s name that has been dragged in the case.

“The institution remains and we have a high respect for the institution. The only problem is the person running it. That is where the nation is having problem with. That’s why we gonna show in the impeachment trial how Chief Justice Corona turned his back from his mandate as chief magistrate,” Tañada said.

A lawyer by profession, Tañada urged Marquez to stop defending Corona which continues to drag the entire administration of the High Court in the impeachment trial.

Saying that impeaching the Chief Justice is a painful experience on their part, Marikina City Rep. Federico Romero “Miro” Quimbo said it is time for Marquez to accept that the impeachment is not an attack on the judiciary, but a constitutional process seeking to remove Corona for betraying public trust.

Quimbo, also a lawyer and spokesperson for the prosecution team, said Corona should be blamed and made accountable for the dwindling trust that the High Court enjoys. (With reports from Rey G. Panaligan and Rio Rose Ribaya)