Citizen judges will also try the Chief Justice
by Voltaire Tupaz, RAPPLER.com
Posted on 01/16/2012 7:43 PM | Updated 01/16/2012 11:23 PM

 MANILA, Philippines – “Maraming salamat po, and I love you all!”

Chief Justice Renato Corona, in a rally this morning, Jan 16, 2012, punctuated his speech with a public declaration of affection. The public, after all, will influence the verdict of the Senate convened as an impeachment court.

In an interview via Twitter, Senator-juror Francis Escudero (@SayChiz) said the people participate as “citizen jurors” during the impeachment trial.

“In a sense, this also makes the process ‘political’ because the public can be part of the proceedings, be ‘citizen judges’ and make known their opinion without fear of being sanctioned.”

Escudero was the first interviewee on Rappler’s Ambush, a quick and brief interview with newsmakers conducted on the popular microblogging site. This writer moderated the online exchange that included Rappler executive editor Maria Ressa (@Maria_Ressa) and multimedia reporter Ayee Macaraig (@AyeeMacaraig).

Asked by Ressa about what the stake is for the Philippines with this impeachment, Escudero replied, “Our ability to show and prove to the world that we can settle our differences legally, peacefully and rationally both as a country and as a people.”

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