MANILA, Philippines – Any discrepancy in Chief Justice Renato Corona’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) from 2002 to 2010 is enough to convince the Senate, convened as an impeachment court, to convict him, House prosecutors said yesterday.
The prosecutors also said that through Corona’s SALN, they would be able to prove that the Chief Justice had amassed ill-gotten wealth.
Prosecution panel spokesman Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada noted that every SALN ends with a sworn statement of the signatory attesting to the veracity and accuracy of the document.
“If there is a single or small discrepancy or any unexplainable item (in the SALN), the oath becomes useless. Even if he (Corona) gives away or returns his assets, the violation, the lie and the ruining of the trust of the people cannot be denied,” Tañada said in Filipino.
“If that is the case, he should not stay a second longer in his post,” he said. “How can he discharge his duties as chief justice if he himself violated his sworn statement in his SALN?”
Lead House prosecutor Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. said that with Corona’s SALN in their possession, it would now be easier to pin him down for ill-gotten wealth.
“It will make our job easier in proving this particular charge, which is Article 2 of our impeachment complaint against him,” Tupas told reporters.
He said records of the Land Registration Authority (LRA) on the properties of Corona and members of his family do not tally with Corona’s assets as declared in his SALN.
He said the Chief Justice did not declare some properties, while others were declared with understated values.
He added that he did not see the 303-square-meter penthouse at the Bellagio Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig that Corona and his wife Cristina acquired in 2009 for P14.5 million and which should be in the chief magistrate’s 2010 SALN.
In his 2010 SALN, the Chief Justice declared his assets at P22.9 million with zero liabilities.
His assets included a condominium unit in Taguig City acquired in 2004 on installment with an assessed value of P1.4 million and a “current fair market value” of P2.4 million and a second Taguig condo unit acquired in 2010 on installment with an assessed value of P3.5 million and a market value of P6.8 million.
It is not clear if the latter condo is the Bellagio Tower penthouse, which, according to LRA records, was acquired in December 2009 under a deed of absolute sale executed by Corona and his wife and Giovanni Ng, finance director of property developer Megaworld Corp., the seller.
Ng acknowledged receipt “in full” of the purchase price of P14.5 million from the Coronas on behalf of Megaworld. The Senate impeachment court has subpoenaed Ng to testify on the transaction. The Coronas’ Bellagio penthouse is now reportedly worth at least P30 million.
Based on official property records, the prosecution claims the Chief Justice and his family own at least 45 condo units, houses and lots in Metro Manila alone. Corona has admitted to owning only five, which he said he had declared in his SALN.
Not in SALN
Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, also a prosecution spokesman, said the Chief Justice and his lawyers have a lot of explaining to do about his wealth, particularly his failure to include some of his real estate possessions in his SALN.
“If you look at his 2009-2010 SALNs, his net worth was P14.6 million and P22.9 million. I don’t think you can fit in five condominium units here. That is not counting the assets in Quezon City and other areas,” he said.
“The SALNs will show the intentional effort of deceit on the part of the Chief Justice. Honesty, integrity, independence – those are the virtues stated in the Constitution of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. So if he cannot even declare his assets in his SALN, he betrays public trust and should be removed. That’s the main point of Article 2 (of the impeachment complaint),” he said.
“Based on his SALNs, the net assets of the Chief Justice in 2003 was less than P8 million but come 2010, it practically tripled to P22 million. There’s got to be a way though on how he was able to acquire all these properties out of the blue,” Quimbo said. “Necessarily, we have to look at how these purchases were made when in fact we have been able to trace all his income and assets from 1992 to 2002,” he said.
He revealed the panel is also looking into the possible participation of Corona’s children in the concealment of some of their assets.
“There is a potential interplay within the family about selling the properties that have not been declared in the SALN. We have evidence to show that the Corona couple sold properties for P18 million to the children. That’s clearly something that needs to be justified,” Quimbo said.
Another prosecution spokesman, Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo, accused SC administrator and spokesman Midas Marquez of deceiving the public with his declaration that Corona has allowed the disclosure of his SALNs.
Marquez made the announcement shortly after the tribunal’s clerk of court, Enriqueta Vidal – on questioning by Sen. Franklin Drilon – agreed to turn over Corona’s wealth statements. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile eventually ordered the surrender of the documents.
“It’s like in a horse race. The horse is already sprinting to the finish line and Marquez tells the public the horse can already start running,” he said.
Tañada, meanwhile, defended Drilon from accusations that the senator did his questioning for the prosecution, which failed to obtain Corona’s SALNs from Vidal. He said Drilon asked his questions in the interest of truth.
He said had Corona been sincere in allowing the disclosure of his SALNs, the impeachment court would not have spent more than three hours trying to convince Vidal to turn over the documents.
He noted that Enrile repeatedly pleaded with Corona’s chief defense lawyer Serafin Cuevas to give his consent to the surrender of his wealth declarations.
“Attorney Marquez should have released it earlier. Under RA 6713, all government officials are required to reveal their SALN. The high court is the only institution that has issued a resolution preventing disclosure of the SALN of its members,” Quimbo said.
‘Spare her’
Tañada also appealed to SC justices to spare Vidal from punishment for turning over Corona’s SALN to the Senate impeachment court.
Tañada said he was bothered by the defense team’s statement that they could not speak on behalf of the 14 other justices despite Marquez’s assurance that no sanction awaits Vidal.
“Even with the assurance of Attorney Marquez, we hope the other justices will not sanction the Clerk of Court,” Tañada said.
“We hope the 14 magistrates will understand that Miss Vidal was not just following the order of Senate impeachment court, she was following the law,” he said.
“He (Corona) is assuring the clerk of court that as far as he is concerned, she has nothing to worry about,” Marquez earlier said.
Cuevas said that Vidal might be reprimanded by the Supreme Court as a whole for her action.
“We can’t stop the other 14 justices from doing so,” defense panel spokesperson Karen Jimeno said.
Tañada explained that Article XI Section 17 of the Constitution requires government officials, including members of the judiciary, to disclose to the public their SALN in the interest of transparency and accountability.
“However, the Supreme Court, through its 1989 resolution, seemed to have exempted judicial officers from being covered by the law,” Tañada said. With Helen Flores
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=769484&publicationSubCategoryId=63
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Corona SALN ‘absolutely damning’: Quimbo
MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) – A spokesman of the House prosecution panel believes Chief Justice Renato Corona’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) are “absolutely damning” in proving that he acquired ill-gotten wealth when he joined the Supreme Court.
Rep. Miro Quimbo said Corona’s net worth did not change for 10 years before he joined the Supreme Court. He said that from a net worth of P7.9 million in 2002, Corona’s net worth then tripled to P22 million by end-2010.
“This is very damning evidence insofar as the degree of honesty and integrity as far as the Chief Justice is concerned,” he said in a press conference.
“How was he able to get all of these properties when in fact from 1992 to 2002… we were able to trace his income. It never changed for 10 years. It even went down,” he said.
Quimbo said the House prosecution is eyeing the opening of Corona family bank deposits to see how he acquired his assets. He noted that Corona sold properties to his children for P18 million.
“Certainly that is a step that is seriously being looked at partly since we have an interplay within the family of selling properties that have not been declared in the SALN by virtue of evidence that we have seen,” he told ABS-CBN News Channel.
“Necessarily, we need to look at how these purchases were made. There have to be bank cheques and transfers of titles and the like. These are essential things to prove ill-gotten and unexplained wealth,” he said.
Bellagio property worth only P6.8M?
Quimbo said Corona’s SALN also raises questions about his purchase of the penthouse unit of The Bellagio in The Fort, Taguig City. The unit is reportedly worth P14.5 million.
“In 2010, he admitted he bought the Bellagio property for P14.5 million. Even that price is doubtful as far as we are concerned. A penthouse in that area should be more than P20 million,” he said.
The spokesman said that while Corona enumerated several properties in his 2010 SALN, not a single one is worth P14.5 million.
“You don’t see a single property here worth P14.5 million. Not a single one. Where is Bellagio worth P14 million which he himself admitted? So if you say the Bellagio is worth P6.8 million as indicated here, where did the P9 million go?”
Quimbo said the Corona SALN is “damning” because it does not jibe with the deed of sale of the Bellagio property.
“The deed of sale says its P14.5 million. It’s already a matter of public record. That is why I am certain that this is absolutely damning. The SALN is a matter that you put under oath. If you lie about the price or the value of it by such a huge disparity, then you have lied under oath. If you have a Chief Justice who does not tell the truth under oath, what else has he not told the truth about? These are questions we are raising,” he said.
Defense tried to block evidence
Rep. Erin Tañada said the SALNs are crucial in showing that there are discrepancies in Corona’s declared assets. He said the SALNs will be compared with the deeds of sale and the titles of real estate properties allegedly owned by the Corona family.
“They tried everything to stop this from coming out…We want the truth. Is everything in the SALN true?” he said.
Quimbo said the House prosecution team is also studying its options with regards to Supreme Court Clerk of Court Enriqueta Vidal. He noted Vidal told prosecutors that she did not bring Corona’s SALNs to the impeachment court but later backtracked and said she had brought them.
“It was contemptible on the part of the Clerk of Court…A patent disregard for the rules and attempt at dishonesty,” he added.
Vidal was compelled to submit Corona’s SALNs to the Senate impeachment court on the orders of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. Before giving them up, she asked the court if she could be allowed to get permission first from the Supreme Court to release the SALN.
Supreme Court Spokesman Jose Midas Marquez later announced that Corona had given permission to release his SALN, and that Vidal will not be reprimanded.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/01/19/12/corona-saln-absolutely-damning-quimbo
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Defense panel decries Drilon ‘rescue’
Senator Franklin Drilon INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Defense lawyers on Thursday expressed concern that some senators were acting as “substitutes” for fumbling House prosecutors in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Serafin Cuevas, Corona’s lead counsel, lamented how Senator Franklin Drilon saved the day for the prosecution and compelled Enriqueta Vidal, the Supreme Court clerk of court, to release to the impeachment court the chief magistrate’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) without authorization from the high tribunal.
According to Cuevas, Drilon’s actions aided the House panel in securing Corona’s SALNs, which were later marked as part of the prosecution evidence.
“If a senator is asking a question, we cannot raise an objection even if we feel that the senator-judge was already acting as a prosecutor. We will be overruled. I hope we will have that right or privilege to object.” he said.
Seek relief from SC?
Asked if he was alarmed by Drilon’s behavior, he said: “Of course, I’m just human. But we still recognize their authority because they are the judges.”
The defense panel may have to seek relief from the high tribunal “if we feel that their actions are already constitutive of grave abuse of discretion,” said the former Supreme Court associate justice.
“They (senators) are judges. They shall remain impartial and shall decide on the basis of the Constitution and the law,” Cuevas said in a news briefing after the trial on Wednesday night.
“If only they let the prosecution ask questions, those documents (SALNs) would not have been disclosed. But Drilon intervened. I tried to object, but they said it cannot be done so I withdrew my objection,” he said in Filipino.
Vidal, who initially told the court that she did not bring Corona’s SALNs with her, reluctantly turned over copies of Corona’s SALN under questioning by Drilon, one of President Benigno Aquino III’s staunchest allies in the ruling Liberal Party.
SALNs of the justices are required to be filed with the clerk of court under a 1989 resolution of the high tribunal and can only be released by an en banc court ruling to protect them from harassment.
Drilon’s intervention saved the presentation of private prosecutor Mario Bautista, who failed to ask Vidal if she had the documents in her possession.
Jose Roy III, another defense lawyer, noted that the House panel was able to “get what it wanted without having to do anything.”
“The way the litigation is going, it seems we have more opponents than what appear on the tables. While we were successful in the defense of our client, we didn’t know that there will be substitutes who were going to come in and play. But that’s just the way it is.”
“While you don’t agree with some of their actions, you have to go and unless it is very clear that they are already trampling on our rights, then that’s the right time (to seek relief from the court),” he said.
Cuevas said Corona’s legal team was discussing the possibility of bringing its concern to the Supreme Court if it becomes more apparent that some senators are favoring the prosecution panel.
The 83-year-old lawyer shrugged off suggestions that a decision to seek legal remedies would delay the proceedings, arguing that lawyers were obligated to ensure the best legal action for their client.
“We are prepared for this eventuality … We will invoke our right to get a relief from the Supreme Court. Where else can we go? That is the only recourse left on our table … We are merely abiding by the dictates of the Constitution,” Cuevas explained.
What’s your problem?
Former Senator Francisco Tatad said he approached Drilon during a break in the proceedings on Thursday to express concern about his observation that the senator was “doing a job” but was “beginning to sound like (he is) a member of the prosecution.”
Tatad told reporters Drilon snapped back at him, “Why, what’s your problem? You disqualify me! Disqualify me!”
Tatad said Drilon told him to “sit with them in the defense panel.”
“I’m not here to be part of either prosecution or defense panel. I’m here to write a book on the impeachment. This would be my second book on impeachment,” said Tatad, who wrote the book, “The Impeachment of President Joseph Ejercito Estrada” several months after his ouster in 2001.
Tatad, who was Senate majority leader when Drilon was Senate President, said he told the senator-judge “that I’m interested in credibility of the impeachment process.”
Tatad said he also told Drilon that he only expressed concern “as a friend (kaibigan tayo), that’s why I talked to him.”
“He was still looking angry when I left,” Tatad recalled.
Asked for comment, Drilon told reporters, “That’s small stuff. Let’s just talk about the impeachment.”
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SC can’t stop Corona impeachment trial, says Enrile
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile insisted that they will proceed with the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona even if it is being asked by the Supreme Court (SC) to answer petitions to stop the trial.
Enrile said in a report that the Senate is now performing a “special assignment” mandated by the Constitution to try and decide an impeachment case.
“We have not abandoned the Constitution. In the same manner that if we ask the explanation of the Supreme Court, they have also to explain to us in the same manner we will have to comply with their requests that we explain our position,” Enrile said.
He said the proceedings will continue even if the Senate decides to reply to petitions asking for the impeachment trial to be stopped, but did not say if the senator-judges will comply in the event the high court orders to stop the trial.
Five petitions have been filed before the SC asking the magistrates to stop the impeachment trial of Corona, who was impeached by the House of Representatives last December on grounds of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and graft and corruption.
SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said on Tuesday the high court consolidated all five cases and ordered respondents to file their comments in 10 days.
According to a Manila Bulletin report, there are four possible actions from the SC: Consolidate the five cases, require comment on the part of the respondents, set the cases for oral arguments, or issue a TRO.
But an analyst of the Estrada impeachment trial said the high court will not decide to stop the impeachment trial of Corona.
Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said the SC would dismiss the petitions “for lack of jurisdiction since the Senate has already been convened as an Impeachment Court.”
He added that Corona already submitted himself to the impeachment court’s jurisdiction when he filed his answer with his motion to dismiss.
Who has the say over release of SALN?
On Wednesday, the issue of authority over the release of Corona’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities was raised after SC clerk of court Enriqueta Vidal initially refused to hand over the chief justice’s declarations to the court [...]
Read the full story >> SC can’t stop Corona impeachment trial, says Enrile
It Looks to me very clearly that the SALN is the smoking gun and there no doubt in my mind that Renato Corona should leave his post and don’t wait the end for final verdict decision because just the SALN alone is enough to show that he BETRAYS the public TRUST of his countrymen as stated in Artcle 2 of the impeachment prepared by the prosecution. All they need is a conviction of one of the eight article of impeachment to oust Renato Corona. Based to all those properties he purchase how in the world he was able to buy all that properties with that asset in his SALN . It looks like the prosecution is doing an outstanding job in this early part of the trial.Congressman Tupas can now singing his theme song ” We have just Begun ” and BANG >>> BANG. Kudos to you DAVID Tupas for a job well done. ( In my previous comments I compare this court battle is just like the battle of David and Goliath and I call the prosecution DAVID.
Is this guy stupid or what? Simple comparison shows a big discrepancy in his properties. Does he really think he can get away with it? Mind-boggling!!
Corona must really think that the Filipino people are that naive and ignorant that they won’t be able to put two and two together even with a calculator. The number one problem in our system of government is not that we lack the services of intelligent people, we have tons of those, so much so that they eventually found a way to enriched themselves without anyone finding out about it even if’s happening right in front of their noses. Almost everyone that are now caught between a rock and a hard place and facing serious charges from the government are government employees themselves, and almost all of them used to be in a position of power. Corona’s goose is cooked in my opinion, and after he is dethroned, the government should concentrate on getting the rest of Arroyos appointees out of the Supreme Court and hopefully replaced them with people who believe in principles instead of self-interest and greed.
Five properties listed in SALN (Bellagio, La Vista, Ridge, Columns & Burgundy), value declared at PP14.2 million.Total acquisition costs PP45.5 million, undervalued for PP31.3 million. If you add the underdeclaration of just these five properties alone, his networth balloons to over PP50 million. Where did he get all this money?
“Under RA 6713, all government officials are required to reveal their SALN. The high court is the only institution that has issued a resolution preventing disclosure of the SALN of its members,” Quimbo said.
“”…the high court’s Sept. 22, 1992, en banc resolution on the subject.” “… individuals requesting a copy of a judge’s SALN must secure a court order first. …the court must deny requests for the release of SALN which were “not made in good faith and for a legitimate purpose, but to fish for information and … to influence a decision or to warn the court of the unpleasant consequences of an adverse judgment.”” – http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/113621/need-corona%E2%80%99s-saln-ask-sc = A Merry-Go-Round of no SALN, Now_or_Never, so the Supreme Court can continue using the Sept. 22, 1992 SC en banc resolution to shield their dishonorable acts.
But finally the Senator Judges got it. Hallelujah!!!
Now his SALN is making blood ooze down from the crown of thorns he wears on his head.