Philippines judge Renato Corona 'quits trial'

Philippines Chief Justice Renato Corona - facing impeachment for allegedly breaching public trust and violating the constitution - has dramatically attempted to walk out of his own trial.

Giving evidence in his own defence, Mr Corona denounced the proceedings as a personal vendetta orchestrated by President Benigno Aquino.

He was impeached in December, accused of various malpractices by Congress.

Mr Corona strongly and tearfully denied the allegations on Tuesday.

He is being impeached on a total of eight counts, including failure to disclose assets and corruption.

"I did not steal a single centavo from the government," said during his three hours of giving evidence. The 63-year-old repeatedly broke down as he did so.

"I did not violate any law," he said.

Correspondents say that he later stunned the court by standing up and trying to leave.

But in what correspondents have described as an unusual showdown between two branches of government, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile ordered a lock-down of the entire Senate building, forcing him to return for a short time to the proceedings.

His lawyers say that as a diabetic, he felt unwell.

The 23-member Senate - the upper house of the Philippine parliament - will decide whether Mr Corona should be unseated for breach of public trust and violation of the constitution.

He has told ABS CBN TV station that "only death" could remove him from office. "If they want to remove me from my post, they should kill me," he said.

Most of his testimony on Tuesday sought to discredit Mr Aquino as well as Ombudsman Conchita Morales, who released documents on the chief justice's alleged 82 bank accounts that prosecutors have described as a "smoking gun".

Denying that he stole any money, Mr Corona said that he would allow his bank accounts to be open for inspection if the 188 lawmakers who supported his impeachment did the same thing.

Correspondents say that the trial has captivated many people in the country, with millions watching the case live on TV.

A guilty verdict on any of the three charges would lead to his removal from office.

The government would then be able to pursue charges against him over his alleged hidden wealth.