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Monday, February 6, 2012

CJ CORONA SHOULD HAVE DECLARED...

CJ CORONA SHOULD HAVE DECLARED in his SALNs and DISCLOSED his (or his wife's) CUMULATIVE PAYMENTS ON CONDO UNIT under Asset Classification "PERSONAL AND OTHER PROPERTIES" While Condo Ownership was NOT yet Transferred to him--as Supreme Court Chief Justice he should know this rule and legal requirement, in which case his repeated annual VIOLATIONS of constitutionally required declaration and disclosure of truthful SALNs may be deemed INTENTIONAL.

Re Impeachment Trial
On February 1, 2012
QUESTIONS:
1. This refers to the question as to when CJ Renato Corona’s (or his wife's) condo unit in The Columns, situated in Makati City , should have been included in his SALN—upon the execution of Deed of Absolute Sale, upon transfer of condominium title, upon constructive delivery by the developer-seller, or upon acceptance by the buyer, Mrs. Cristina Corona, spouse of CJ Corona?
2. The above question is actually a prelude to the ultimate question—did CJ Renato Corona violate the mandated sworn declaration and disclosure of truthful SALNs in the manner provided by law pursuant to Section 17, Article XI of the Constitution, through his late declaration in his 2010 SALN of his condo unit, which was already paid and covered with Deed of Absolute Sale years earlier?
ANSWERS:
1. On the first question, CJ Corona should have reflected on his annual SALNs his (or his wife's) first and subsequent installment payments on the subject condo unit during the years that actual payments were made. The amount to be declared in each of his annual SALNs should have been the cumulative installment payments as at the end of the year subject of SALN.
In the meantime that there was no transfer of title and possession to CJ Corona’s spouse, then the cumulative installment payments should have been included in his SALN as part of “all other assets” provided under Section 8 (A) (c) of RA No. 6713, pertinent excerpt from which is shown asANNEX A. As such other assets, the cumulative installment payments should have been listed under“Personal and Other Properties” shown on page 1 of the SALN form.
Thus, the hair-splitting legal issue of when the condo unit should have been properly reflected in the SALN as real property—whether upon execution of deed of sale, transfer of title, or transfer of possession is not the really critical issue. Provided the cumulative installment payments were included in the SALN under “Personal and Other Properties” in the meantime that the condo unit was not shown in it as real property, then CJ Corona has in substance complied with the constitutional requirement on truthful SALNs.
Assets can be described as tangible or intangible things owned that are of value or can produce value. The term “assets” clearly encompasses CJ Corona’s (or his wife’s) cumulative installment payments on the subject condo unit, therefore the increasing amounts of annual cumulative installments paid should have been declared under oath in his annual SALNs—but were not.The cumulative installment payments constituteASSET in the form of rights over real property (which will eventually ripen into ownership once the total condo purchase price is fully paid) because these have CASH REALIZABLE VALUE. These came from and were paid for by CJ Corona out of another form of his valuable ASSET—cash—and can be re-converted into the same valuable cash had CJ Corona desired to do so. As many condo buyers have done, before fully paying the purchase price, CJ Corona could have opted to recover his cumulative installment payments—at a gain, loss, or cost-recovery basis—through selling his rights under a scheme called “transfer of rights.” As he did not sell, he had a valid CLAIM against the condo-developer over the total amount already paid. Had the developer eventually failed on a final basis to deliver the condo unit, then CJ Corona had the right to demand REFUND of the total installment payments made. If the developer was at fault, CJ Corona could have claimed damages.
2. On the above ultimate question, CJ Corona violated the constitutionally required sworn declaration and disclosure of truthful SALNs if he did not include therein—under “Pesonal and Other Properties”—his cumulative installment payments on the subject condo during the years that there were installment payments already made. Based on his annual SALNs posted to the Internet, it appears that CJ Corona did not disclose in his SALNs his cumulative installment payments on condo units.
Worse, in blatant and culpable violation of the Constitution that imposes sworn and truthful declaration and disclosure of SALNs in the manner provided by law—which law is Section 8 of RA 6713 that mandates the sworn declaration and disclosure of, among other information, asset acquisition costs in annual SALNs—CJ Corona repeatedly, habitually, and apparently intentionally failed from 2003 to 2010 to declare in his SALNs the acquisition costs of all of his real properties—as incontrovertibly shown by the unfilled in blank space in the acquisition cost column of all of his filed SALNs from 2003 to 2010, shown as ANNEX B. (The inescapable evil implications of this repeated failure, together with other failures, will be treated in one of my subsequent emails.)
How the highly educated, experienced, and knowledgeable Chief Justice of the land can commit such repeated and flagrant violation of Constitution and law is astounding.
MARCELO L. TECSON
A Concerned Citizen
San Miguel, Bulacan
2-1-12, 2-6-12
=============
ANNEX A
EXCERPT FROM RA NO. 6713:
Section 8. Statements and Disclosure. - Public officials and employees have an obligation to accomplish and submit declarations under oath of, and the public has the right to know, their assets, liabilities, net worth and financial and business interests including those of their spouses and of unmarried children under eighteen (18) years of age living in their households.

(A) Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Financial Disclosure. - All public officials and employees, except those who serve in an honorary capacity, laborers and casual or temporary workers, shall file under oath their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and a Disclosure of Business Interests and Financial Connections and those of theirspouses and unmarried children under eighteen (18) years of age living in their households.

The two documents shall contain information on the following:
(a) real property, its improvements, acquisition costs, assessed value and current fair market value;
(b) personal property and acquisition cost;
(c) all other assets such as investments, cash on hand or in banks, stocks, bonds, and the like;
(d) liabilities, and;
(e) all business interests and financial connections.

ANNEX B

CJ RENATO CORONA'S SALNs

RAISSA ROBLES: I’m posting below the first pages of CJ Corona’s SALNs so you can see how he liquidated his “cash advance” of P11 million by 2009.

Here is Page 1 of his SALN for 2003
Corona-SALN2003
Chief Justice Renato Corona's SALN for 2003, page 1

Here is page 1 of his SALN for 2004

Corona-SALN2004

Here is page 1 of his SALN for 2005

Corona-SALN2005

Here is page 1 of his SALN for 2006

Corona-SALN2006

Here is page 1 of his SALN for 2007

Corona-SALN2007

Here is page 1 of his SALN for 2008

Corona-SALN2008

Here is page 1 of his SALN for 2009

Corona-SALN2009

And here is page 1 of his SALN for 2010

Corona-SALN2010
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