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Memorable moments from the Corona verdict

Based on ANC's coverage, here are the most striking images during the verdict of Chief Justice Renato Corona:

1. Senator Miriam Santiago's 20-minute combative speech.

True to form, the lady senator used most of her long-winded peroration to scold the prosecution and even her fellow senators with her ear-splitting voice as she explained her interpretation of the constitution and the law.

She pointed out that she's the only former judge in the Senate and also cited her appointment to the international court, maybe to justify her ex-cathedra statements.

How appropriate that the director cut to a shot of Atty.Vitaliano Aguirre who was cited in contempt for covering his ears while Santiago harangued the prosecution for their errors in a previous session. This time, Aguirre was well-behaved and listened to her seemingly endless explanation of her vote.

Presiding officer Juan Ponce-Enrile must have regretted giving the senators' unlimited time to explain their votes instead of the previously agreed two-minute time limit.

2. Several senators using a court interpreter's experience to explain their "guilty" vote.

They were referring to Delsa Flores, a court interpreter in Davao who was dismissed by the Supreme Court. She was disqualified from holding any appointive or elective government position and deprived of her retirement benefits for not including a market stall that she was renting in the Panabo market in her Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SALN).

The lawmakers explained that what should apply to a lowly court employee should also apply to the Chief Justice who, by his own admission, failed to report some assets in his SALN.

Later, Flores was interviewed in two newscasts. She thought, at first, that the Chief Justice would be acquitted and was very happy that the Senate found him guilty.

3. Senator Lito Lapid's short but heartwarming speech.

I had expected Lapid to fumble in explaining his vote but he acquitted himself quite well. He said he came without a prepared speech, was a mere high school graduate who didn't speak English and was unfamiliar with the intricacies of law.

However, what convinced him to vote "guilty" was the power point presentation of Congressman Rudy Fariñas explaining Corona's wealth. He did not believe the "pizza pie" presentation of the Chief Justice on his dollar accounts. In the end, he said it was his conscience that led him to vote for conviction.

His last words for the Chief Justice: "Pasensiya na po. Pasensiya na po. Ang hatol ko sa inyo, guilty!"

4. Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Manny Villar, Gringo Honasan and Lito Lapid on how they identified with the suffering of the Chief Justice's and his family.

Senator Estrada referred to his father's experience with the impeachment court in 2001 when the private prosecutors walked out. He felt that this was stage managed to have the case decided on the streets, which resulting in the ouster of former President Joseph Estrada.

Villar used more time by debunking insinuations that he was Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's candidate for president in 2011 and that he was guilty of rerouting a road project to benefit his company. He compared his own experience with that of the Chief Justice who suffered at the hands of media. He said Corona was a good man but he still entered a vote of "guilty."

Honasan and Lapid also talked about being denied due process in cases brought against them.

5. Senator Bong Revilla's deciding vote.

Before Revilla explained his vote, the count was 15 for conviction and three for acquittal. Sixteen votes are required for conviction. He had the enviable position of formalizing Corona's fate with his "guilty" vote. There was speculation before the verdict that he would vote to acquit because he is in the opposition.

Speaking mostly in English, Revilla surprised some analysts when he voted "guilty." After him, the votes of Senators Tito Sotto, Antonio Trillanes, Villar and Enrile were anti-climactic.

In the end, it was 20 votes for conviction and 3 votes for acquittal.

6. And, the most memorable quotes of the day:

Alan Peter Cayetano (asked to abstain by some quarters): "If your client cannot explain, I cannot abstain. If you did not disclose, I have to depose. And if you're not fit, you cannot sit as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court."

Miriam Defensor Santiago (on how some public officials use loopholes in the SALN law): "Panginoon, bigyan mo pa ako ng isa pang buhay at iimbestigahin ko lahat, isa-isa, dito sa Senado at sa House of Representatives. Tingnan natin. Pati sarili ko iimbestigahin ko."

Sergio Osmena III: "We should not penalize the poor man for stealing a bicycle but rule that the rich man must first steal a Mercedes before he is subjected to a similar penalty."

Koko Pimentel: "Ang batas para kay Juan ay batas rin para kay Renato."

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.