DISCIPLINE OF

MEMBERS OF THE
JUDICIARY
SUPREME COURT
JUSTICES
Section 2, Article X, 1987 Consti
Members of the Supreme Court may be removed from office on
IMPEACHMENT for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the
Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes,
or betrayal of public trust.
Section 3, Article VI, Constitution
STEPS LEADING TO IMPEACHMENT
(1) A verified complaint for impeachment is filed by a (4) The committee holds a hearing, approves the
member of the House or endorsed by him; resolution calling for impeachment, and submits the
same to the House;

(2) The complaint is included in the order of business (5) The House considers the resolution and votes to
of the House; approve it by at least one-third of all its members,
which resolution becomes the article of impeachment
to be filed with the Senate when approved; and

(3) The House refers the complaint to the proper (6) The Senate tries the public official under the
committee; article
IMPEACHMENT OF CHIEF
JUSTICE CORONA
December 12, 2011, the House of Representatives voted to impeach
Chief Justice Corona. They charged him with eight articles of
impeachment alleging:

(1) Betrayal of public trust;

(2) Graft and corruption; and

(3) Culpable violation of the Constitution.

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT
ARTICLE I: Partiality and subservience in cases ARTICLE V: Gerrymandering in the case of the 16-
involving the Arroyo administration; newly created cities and promotion of Dinagat into a
province;
ARTICLE II: Failure to disclose to the public his
statement of assets and liabilities; ARTICLE VI: Improper investigation in the plagiarism
case of Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo;
ARTICLE III: Flip-flopping decisions in final and Article VII: Granting a temporary restraining order to
executory cases, creating excessive entanglement with Former President Arroyo and husband Mike Arroyo
Former President Arroyo, and discussing with litigants after the Department of Justice prevented them to go
regarding the cases pending before the Supreme out of the country;
Court;
ARTICLE VIII: Graft and corruption when he failed and
ARTICLE IV: Irregularities in issuing a quo-ante order refused to account for the judiciary development fund
against the House of Representatives in the and special allowance for the judiciary collections.
impeachment of then Ombudsman Merceditas
Gutierrez;
QUANTUM OF EVIDENCE USED
An impeachment proceeding is sui generis;
it is neither purely political nor criminal.
It does not require proof beyond reasonable doubt.
In the course of the impeachment trial, the senator-judges expressed
differing views.
Some clear and convincing proof, some preponderance of evidence
IMPEACHMENT (ETHICAL ASPECTS)
Former Chief Justice Corona was the first justice of the Supreme Court to
be impeached and convicted.
He was found guilty for culpable violation of the Constitution and/or
betrayal of public trust for not correctly declaring his statements of assets,
liabilities and net worth.

The prosecution alleges that he inaccurately declared his peso and dollar
deports, and real estate properties.
The defense argues that he did not declare his dollar deposits and peso
deposits because of the banking secrecy and foreign currency deposit laws.
It was also said that some undeclared assets are also co-mingled funds that
he does not own solely.