MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Renato C. Corona on Monday asked the Senate, sitting as an Impeachment Court, to dismiss outright the impeachment complaint filed against him by 188 members of the House of Representatives for “failing to meet the requirements of the Constitution.”

In a 79-page answer, Corona asked, as an alternative plea, for an entry of “judgment of acquittal for all the articles of impeachment.”

Corona is accused of violating the Constitution, betraying public trust, and committing graft and corruption.

The Senate formally received Corona’s reply from Dexter Corpus, an official of the Supreme Court (SC), who was tasked to deliver the voluminous copies to the Upper Chamber.

He arrived at 3:25 p.m. Lawyer Valentina Cruz, designated spokesperson of the impeachment court, said a copy of Corona’s answer will be sent to the House of Representatives Tuesday first thing in the morning.

Congressmen, acting as impeachment prosecutors, said they will ask the Senate to reject Corona’s motion for the outright dismissal of the impeachment case.

Senior Deputy Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas and Reps. Miro Quimbo (LP, Marikina City) and Rep. Nery Colmenares (Bayan Muna Partylist) said the Senate will be asked to continue with the impeachment hearings next month and let Corona fully explain his contentions in pushing for the dismissal.

“It’s difficult to see which constitutional requirements were not met. Perhaps a handful did not read but most did,” said Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, who is not a member of the prosecution panel but whose father, Senator Edgardo Angara, will be among the judges in the impeachment issue.

House prosecutors will have five days to respond to Corona’s reply. The Chief Justice was given 10 calendar days to respond to the charges against him after being served a writ of summons last Dec. 15.

All 32 offices of the Senate including that of the offices of the 23 senators have a copy of Corona’s answer.

Cruz said they expect the Lower House to submit their reply on Jan, 2, 2012.

Preparations for the impeachment trial start in earnest as Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. stressed that the initial fund of P5 million for the 11-man House prosecution panel will be released “anytime.”

Belmonte gave the assurance to the panel led by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, chairman of the House Committee on Justice, and the impeachment manager, Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya Jr.

“We have the P5 million as I promised. It will be released to them anytime,” Belmonte said.

He said the amount was just a “benchmark.” It is the same amount released by the House for impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada in 2001.

Corona will be facing two trials – one before the impeachment court and another by publicity – unless senators act to stop all parties involved in the case from discussing publicly the merits of the case.

Congressmen chosen to prosecute Corona before the Senate impeachment court said discussing the merits of the evidence and the testimonies should be considered a “constitutional right” of the public and must be allowed.

“A gag order should not apply to an impeachment case because such falls under the Accountability of Public Officers article of the Constitution. The only purpose of an impeachment case is the removal of a public officer from his office,” said Farinas.

Farinas is not among the 188 congressmen who signed the articles of impeachment. Nevertheless, the top ten placer in the 1978 Bar examinations was chosen as member of the 11-man prosecution panel.

However, Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay said fairness and objectivity must be accorded Corona who remains innocent until proven guilty of committing eight impeachable offenses by the Senate.

Aside from legal and constitutional infirmities, Corona said the articles of impeachment were baseless “and borne out of the bias against me by associating me with the unpopular President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.”

He also decried what he described as “hidden forces who will be benefitted by my ouster and who are conspiring and causing intrigue behind the scene to ensure my removal and their re-emergence into power to the detriment of the bench, the bar and the populace.”

At the same time, Corona said the impeachment complaint filed against him “transcends the person of the Chief Justice.”

“What is at stake then is the independence of the Supreme Court and the judiciary as a whole. Because the impeachment of Chief Justice Corona is an assault on the independence of the judiciary, it is nothing less than an attack on the Constitution itself,” he said.

Corona was represented in his answer by retired Supreme Court (SC) Justice Serafin R. Cuevas, and lawyers Jose M. Roy III, Jacinto D. Jimenez, Ernesto B. Francisco Jr., German Q. Lichauco II, and Dennis P. Manalo.

SC Spokesman and Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez said a copy of the answer was first sent to the House of Representatives and, thereafter, filed with the Senate.

Marquez said the six lawyers volunteered their services to the Chief Justice, and if some of them have pending cases with the SC, “the Chief Justice will surely inhibit himself.”

He also said the Chief Justice would get his official spokesperson at the start of the trial.

At the same time, Marquez said Chief Justice reiterated that he will not resign or go on leave of absence.

Four petitions have been filed with the SC seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the Senate from proceeding with the impeachment trial of Corona starting on Jan. 16, 2012.

The SC is now on Christmas break and will resume sessions in the second week of January.

According to Corona, the complaint filed against him “is insufficient in substance and form.”

He said the Senate may not proceed with the trial because the complaint “is constitutionally infirm and defective for failure to comply with the requirement of verification.” (With reports from Hannah L. Torregoza, Rio Rose Ribaya, Ben R. Rosario)