In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 15 October 1948
- Died
- 29 April 2016
- Birthplace
- Philippines (birthplace locality not independently reconciled)
- Country
- Philippines
- Nationality
- Filipino
- Known for
- Becoming the first Philippine chief justice removed from office by an impeachment conviction
- Supreme Court
- Associate justice from 9 April 2002
- Chief justice term
- 17 May 2010–29 May 2012
- Impeachment verdict
- 20 guilty · 3 not guilty · Article II
- Later proceedings
- 2021 benefits ruling; separate 2022 forfeiture dismissal
Why this life matters
Corona’s removal demonstrated the constitutional force of impeachment while exposing enduring disagreement about the line between accountability and political pressure on the judiciary.
Timeline
Key moments
Completed his Ateneo law degree
The Supreme Court’s biographical entry records his legal education before private-sector and government work.
Returned to executive legal service
Served as assistant executive secretary for legal affairs under Fidel V. Ramos, later becoming presidential legal counsel.
Joined the Supreme Court
Became an associate justice after senior service in the Arroyo administration.
Appointed and then began his chief justiceship
The appointment is dated 12 May in the later benefits decision; the Court’s official roster dates his term from 17 May.
Faced impeachment proceedings
The House accused him in December 2011; the Senate tried the case the following year.
Removed by the impeachment court
The Senate convicted him under Article II over asset disclosure, by twenty votes to three.
Died before later proceedings concluded
His death ended personal criminal proceedings, but should not be used to date every related civil disposition.
Retirement and survivorship benefits granted
The Supreme Court decided his widow’s benefit claim without reversing the impeachment judgment.
Separate forfeiture dismissal reported
PNA reported the Sandiganbayan’s dismissal of the civil case against Corona’s heirs and other respondents.
Legal training and a career before the chief justiceship
Renato Corona studied at Ateneo de Manila, completing his law degree in 1974; the Supreme Court’s biographical roster also records a Harvard Master of Laws in 1992. Before joining the judiciary, he worked in private-sector legal and banking positions as well as in government. His career therefore extended beyond the presidential office with which his later appointment became associated.
Under Fidel V. Ramos he held executive legal posts, including assistant executive secretary for legal affairs and presidential legal counsel. He subsequently served Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as vice-presidential chief of staff and, after she became president, as presidential chief of staff and acting executive secretary. He joined the Supreme Court on 9 April 2002.
Sources for this section: [5]
The 2010 appointment and the constitutional dispute
Corona succeeded Reynato Puno as the Court’s twenty-third chief justice. Two dates need separating: the 2021 benefits decision describes an appointment on 12 May 2010, while the Court’s official roster dates his chief-justice term from 17 May. Treating the appointment document and the beginning of the term as identical produces a misleading office chronology.
The appointment followed De Castro v. Judicial and Bar Council, decided on 17 March 2010. Its majority held that the election-period appointment prohibition did not prevent the outgoing president from filling the impending Supreme Court vacancy. The decision resolved the legal appointment-power question; it did not end political criticism of Arroyo’s choice or establish that the incoming Aquino administration accepted it.
What the Senate decided in 2012
The House brought articles of impeachment in December 2011. The decisive Senate judgment on 29 May 2012 concerned Article II and disclosure of assets in Corona’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, usually abbreviated SALN. Twenty senators voted to convict and three to acquit. The result removed him from the chief justiceship.
The constitutional roles are different: the House brings the accusation and the Senate tries an impeachment. Article XI also leaves the officer subject to separate proceedings under ordinary law. A Senate impeachment conviction is therefore not a criminal conviction, and later decisions about property or benefits answer different legal questions.
Death, retirement benefits and the limits of the 2021 ruling
Corona died on 29 April 2016. In its 12 January 2021 decision on his widow’s application, the Supreme Court treated him as involuntarily retired for the particular benefit claim and granted retirement allowances and survivorship benefits. It distinguished impeachment removal from a judicial finding that would forfeit those entitlements.
This was not an order reinstating Corona as chief justice or reversing the Senate’s verdict. The decision expressly treated his removal as an accomplished, final event. Its account of other terminated proceedings must also be read alongside later records, rather than used as a shortcut to the history of every civil claim.
Sources for this section: [1]
The separate forfeiture case and how to read his legacy
In November 2022, the Philippine News Agency reported a Sandiganbayan decision dismissing the forfeiture case against Corona’s heirs and other respondents. The report describes the court’s conclusion that the family had sufficiently explained the income used to acquire the questioned assets. That later civil disposition cannot accurately be collapsed into a claim that every case ended automatically when Corona died.
His family described the result as vindication; that is their stated interpretation, not a reversal of the impeachment judgment. Corona’s career is best understood by keeping three outcomes distinct: removal by the Senate, the grant of retirement-related benefits, and the later dismissal of a property case. Each had its own forum, parties and legal purpose.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Renato Corona
- Why was Renato Corona impeached?
- The Senate convicted him under Article II over asset disclosure in his SALN on 29 May 2012, by twenty votes to three. The impeachment removed him from office; it was not a criminal conviction.
- When did Renato Corona become chief justice?
- The appointment is dated 12 May 2010 in the later benefits decision, while the Court’s official roster dates his chief-justice term from 17 May 2010 to 29 May 2012.
- Did the Supreme Court reverse Corona’s impeachment?
- No. Its 12 January 2021 decision granted retirement and survivorship benefits while treating the Senate’s removal judgment as final.
- Was the later forfeiture case the same as the impeachment?
- No. PNA reported a separate civil forfeiture dismissal in November 2022 involving his heirs and other respondents. It did not overturn the Senate verdict.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
The president who appointed Corona after his executive legal service.
- Benigno Aquino III
The incoming president whose administration clashed politically with the chief justice.
- Juan Ponce Enrile
The Senate president who presided over the impeachment trial.
- Miriam Defensor Santiago
A senator who opposed conviction during the 2012 trial.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Supreme Court of the Philippines via LawPhilRe: Letter of Mrs. Ma. Cristina Roco Corona
This is the 2021 benefits decision, not an appeal acquitting him of impeachment. Its broad account of terminated cases must not obscure the separately reported 2022 civil forfeiture disposition.
- 2. Senate of the PhilippinesSenate impeachment court renders verdict
- 3. The LawPhil Project1987 Constitution — Article XI on accountability
- 4. Wikimedia CommonsPortrait and licence record
- 5. Supreme Court E-LibraryRenato C. Corona: official chief-justice roster and biography
The official roster supplies education, earlier offices and the 17 May term start. It lists Tanauan, Batangas as birthplace, unlike the former draft’s Manila; locality is not independently reconciled here, so the display uses country-level precision. Live access was intermittent; the indexed official entry was available.
- 6. Supreme Court via LawPhilDe Castro v. Judicial and Bar Council, 17 March 2010
The majority holding on appointment power is distinguished from the parties’ arguments, dissenting opinions and later political assessments.
- 7. Philippine News AgencyCorona’s kin: later forfeiture dismissal and attributed family response, 4 November 2022
PNA reports the later court outcome and attributes the family’s vindication claim. The underlying 48-page forfeiture judgment was not independently retrieved in this review.
