‘Fishing expedition’

Editorial

'If that's a form of a fishing expedition, the fish must be huge indeed.'

IT’S a hoary trick, keeping unexplained assets in one’s children’s names to try to get around the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Ombudsman has long known how to go about exposing the fiction and the Sandiganbayan has convicted too many who had resorted to the ruse.

Hence it appears unbelievable that Chief Justice Renato Corona would engage in so sophomoric an exercise in hiding his alleged unexplained wealth. But that’s what the prosecution says and it appears to be succeeding in presenting evidence that show more assets than listed in Corona’s declared statement of assets and liabilities.

The defense, of course, will have its day in court and Corona’s counsels say there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for the assets titled to the children. The children, after all, might have had enough income to buy the properties, whether directly for their account or indirectly through the parents. If they don’t have any means of income commensurate to the accumulated assets, then Corona’s goose is cooked.

We will know soon enough as the impeachment trial proceeds to its conclusion.

On another front in the war against graft, former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo has told the Ombudsman he could not possibly have had a hand in the sale of two used helicopters for the price of brand new to thePhilippine National Police because he had long sold his share in the LTA family corporation, the original buyer/owner of the aircraft.

That may well be so – that is, Mike Arroyo has divested – but the testimony received during the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee was that LTA sold the helicopters to another company whose owner said he was instructed by Arroyo to sell the units to the PNP for the price of brand new. The seller said he gave the proceeds of the sale to Arroyo, keeping a commission for himself.

Will the Ombudsman buy Arroyo’s defense? Again, we will see soon enough.

Putting assets in children’s names or invoking divestment of shares of stocks are now considered automatic triggers of suspicions of corrupt transactions. If that’s a form of a fishing expedition, the fish must be huge indeed.