CORONA'S CELL PHONE TAPPED
MANILA,
JANUARY 26,
2012 (STAR) By Christina Mendez - The camp
of Chief Justice Renato Corona succeeded yesterday in blocking the presentation
of prosecution witnesses on allegations that he had amassed ill-gotten wealth as
a public official.
The prosecution panel, led by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, had lined up seven
witnesses for yesterday's hearing – including Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
chief Kim Henares – but did not get to put a single one of them on the witness
stand.
The Senate impeachment court had to suspend the trial after the prosecution
failed to comply with the court's order that it present a memorandum explaining
its inclusion of the ill-gotten wealth issue in Article 2 of the eight Articles
of Impeachment.
The defense panel submitted its memorandum contesting the inclusion of the
ill-gotten wealth issue.
Tupas said they were planning to submit their memorandum tomorrow but Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile directed the prosecution to submit it today to avoid
further delays in the trial.
The defense also filed a motion to quash the subpoena for the BIR
commissioner, saying that her presence is irrelevant and immaterial to Article 2
of the complaint.
"The presentation of the ITRs (income tax returns) and tax certificates of
the Corona children should not be allowed for being without basis, irrelevant,
and immaterial to these proceedings," the defense said in a six-page motion. "It
cannot be denied that CJ Corona is being accused only of his alleged failure to
disclose to the public his SALN, no more, no less."
The defense also stressed that the properties and income of other individuals
have no bearing on Corona's SALN.
"Complainants have not shown whether CJ Corona's children, as listed in the
subpoena, are either unmarried, under 18 years old, or still living in CJ
Corona's household," they added.
The prosecution, on the other hand, sought a subpoena for any concerned
National Statistics Office official or personnel who may be asked to bring
certificates of live birth of Charina Roco Corona, Maria Carla Roco Corona, and
Francis Roco Corona as well as the marriage contract of Maria Carla Castillo and
Constantino Tocong Castillo III.
Prosecution spokesman Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo lashed out at the defense for
asking the Senate impeachment court to expunge from the records all information
regarding the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Corona and his family.
"Let's not fool ourselves. The real reason why this afternoon's trial got
snagged was the Chief Justice's failure to submit his tax returns," he said.
Quimbo noted that the defense's filing of its memorandum came a day after the
prosecution announced that Henares was to take the witness stand on Jan. 26 to
testify on the ITR and other tax records of the Coronas.
Quimbo said Corona should order his lawyers to allow the presentation of his
tax records to prove that he was not hiding anything.
Lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas argued that the defense was not delaying
the proceedings but was merely making sure that the rights of Corona and his
family are protected.
Cuevas said the inclusion of the illegal wealth issue "will not stand the
test of judicial scrutiny," and called the attention of the senator-judges to
the prosecution's effort to bring the SALN issue to the bar of public opinion.
Cuevas also argued that guilt must be based on proof beyond reasonable doubt.
He said an impeachment case must not be treated the same way as a simple
criminal or civil case, the penalty for which ranges from six months
imprisonment to life imprisonment.
"Why will there be a lesser quantum of evidence required of conviction in an
impeachment case where the penalty is very severe? It is not merely equivalent
to reclusion perpetua, it is practically a death sentence.
"When it speaks of disqualification from public service, that is a perpetual,
absolute disqualification," he said.
Cuevas said very few public officials may be subjected to an impeachment
proceeding as provided for in the Constitution.
List of witnesses
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago (photo above) moved that both
prosecution ad defense panels be required to submit lists of witnesses within
three days.
"I propose very strongly that both counsels of both camps submit a list of
your witnesses until the end of trial with their names and substance of their
testimonies so we can determine the timeline of these proceedings," she said.
Santiago made her first appearance yesterday – the fifth day of the
impeachment trial – after a week-long absence due to hypertension.
She showed irritation when Tupas shook his head after she asked him how many
prosecution witnesses would be presented in the entire trial.
"You should have known. Don't shake your head at me. You come to court
prepared. You do not waste the time of this court," Santiago told Tupas.
Tupas asked the impeachment court to give the prosecution three days to
submit their list of witnesses, and the senators did not object.
Cuevas, meanwhile, said the defense would present 15 witnesses and 25
documentary exhibits.
Santiago also said a caucus among senator-judges will settle the debate
between Tupas and Cuevas over the standard of proof in an impeachment trial.
Defense counsel Tranquil Salvador III lauded the impeachment court's move to
hear both parties first on the issue of illegal wealth before more witnesses
were allowed to testify.
"Even the Senate president, as presiding officer, said he sees this as the
way (to resolve the issue)," Salvador said.
Karen Jimeno, spokesperson for the defense, also chided the prosecution for
pleading for greater flexibility in rules.
"The problem here is we have an institution, and as mentioned by Senate
President Enrile, these rules are tried and tested, and these rules are here to
govern our proceedings," Jimeno said in Filipino.
SALN shows 'lies'
Prosecutors reiterated that Corona "has demonstrated a disturbing pattern of
lies and deception" in his SALN.
They said Corona had lied under oath not only when he concealed ownership of
several high-priced properties, but also when he failed to disclose in his SALN
that his wife Cristina was a board member of the state-owned John Hay Management
Corp. (JHMC) from 2002 to 2006.
"This bolsters our allegation that he is not fit to be the country's top
magistrate. He lacks all the qualifications of a member of the Supreme Court – a
person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence," Aurora Rep.
Juan Edgardo Angara, a prosecution spokesman, said.
In his SALN, Corona did not declare that his wife Cristina was appointed to
the JHMC the same year he was named to the SC by then President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo in 2002. It was only in his 2007 SALN that he indicated that
his wife Cristina was also a government official. The wife of the Chief Justice
was chair and president of JHMC from 2006 to 2010.
"It's not just one, two or three but at least on eight occasions there was
clear falsity in so far as the declaration of SALN is concerned. That is
uncontroverted and it's clear to us that this is the reason why they (defense
lawyers) did not want the SALNs to come out and now we're thankful that they are
now in the open," Marikina City Rep. Romero Quimbo said.
Meanwhile, a group called Movement 188 said Corona has been "speaking with a
forked tongue" on the issues raised against him.
"His pronouncements do not jibe with the legal moves of his hotshot lawyers
to stop House prosecutors from presenting certain evidence and bar some
witnesses from testifying against him."
It added that if the Chief Justice is really innocent, he and his lawyers
should not object to the manner the prosecution is pursuing its case against
him.
The movement noted several roadblocks which it claims Corona and his lawyers
have put up "to prevent the truth from coming out,"
such as the motion to exclude Corona's alleged ill-gotten wealth from the
impeachment charges and the plan to prevent the disclosure of the income tax
returns of Corona and members of his family.
The 188 House impeachers also announced that they would be explaining to
their constituents the impeachment charges and the trial.
"As signatories to the resolution that paved the way for the ongoing Senate
trial, it behooves us to fully explain to our people the big picture of the
Corona trial," they said.
"The big picture is that the impeachment trial is not an attack on the
justices or the judiciary itself, but a constitutional process meant to make top
officials – in this case the Chief Justice – accountable to our people and to
restore the High Court to its erstwhile glory as an ardently independent, highly
credible and greatly respected co-equal branch of government," they said
The 188 Corona impeachers include Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Majority
Leader Neptali Gonzales ll and other House leaders. With
Marvin Sy, Helen Flores, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Jose Rodel Clapano
FROM THE MANILA TIMES
Nothing irregular with Corona's failure to file ITR – Henares
Published : Thursday, January 26, 2012 00:00 Written by : Jefferson
Antiporda, Reporter
[PHOTO - Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago and BIR Commissioner Kim
Jacinto-Henares share a light moment during the sixth day of the impeachment
trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona on Wednesday. POOL
PHOTO]
BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares disclosed
on Wednesday that her office had no records of Chief Justice Renato Corona's
income tax returns (ITR) from 2002 to 2010.
She said, however, that there was nothing irregular about the chief
magistrate's failure to file his ITR.
Henares told the Senate impeachment court that the Chief Justice did not need
to file his ITR because he was on the "alpha list" of the Supreme Court.
The list contains the names of employees and how much tax was withheld from
their income. Henares explained that section 51 of the Internal Revenue Code
allows a person whose sole income is subject to withholding tax not to submit an
ITR.
However, she said that her bureau only had records of Corona's income and
withholding tax from 2006 to 2010.
Based on the records, Corona in 2006 had a gross income of P465,000 and
withholding tax of P109,706. In 2007, his income was P488,156 and tax withheld
was P117,399. In 2008, his income was P604,388, and withholding tax was
P154,057; 2009, P621,528 and tax withheld was P155,556; 2010, P657,755 and
withholding tax, P176,577.
Henares said that the High Court failed to submit alpha lists from 2002 to
2005.
However, in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, Corona
declared a net worth of P9.5 million in 2006, P11 million in 2007, P12 million
in 2008, P12 million in 2009, and P22.9 million in 2010.
Corona's phone tapped Published : Thursday,
January 26, 2012 00:00 Written by : Jomar Canlas, ReporterILA TIMES
MEMBERS of the family of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona have more
things to worry about than the outcome of his impeachment trial. As a result of
the historic and televised trial, the security and privacy of the Corona family
may have been compromised as sources said that the chief magistrate's phones
were tapped.
An unimpeachable source close to the Chief Justice's family told The Manila
Times that Corona's cellular phone was "bugged," citing at least two incidents
proving that text exchanges among members of the family were being monitored.
In one incident, Corona sent a text message to his wife Cristina, in which he
set the time and place of their supposed meeting one afternoon. Moments later,
an unidentified text message reached the chief magistrate.
"O, magkikita pala kayo mamayang hapon (So you're seeing each other this
afternoon)," it said.
On another occasion, Corona's son, Francis, forwarded a prayer to his father
for strength to face the impeachment trial when another text message came in.
"Idinadaan mo na lang sa dasal, ano? (Now you're resorting to prayer, eh?),"
the message said.
"This would just show that the Chief Justice can be tracked down wherever he
goes. It is a message to convey that we are monitoring you and there is no other
way to go but resign," The Times' source said.
Military
A high-ranking official who has knowledge about wiretapping told The Times
that only the military had the expertise, capability, resources and gadgets to
conduct bugging activities.
In fact, during the May 2004 elections, then-Commission on Elections
Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and then-President Gloria Arroyo were
wiretapped and their recorded conversation eventually became known as the "Hello
Garci" scandal.
The source said that the conversation was only made public and could not be
used in any court of law because it was inadmissible as evidence. It was then
established that the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(ISAFP) conducted the wiretapping of Mrs. Arroyo's line. ISAFP agent Vidal Doble
confirmed this during congressional inquiries into the "Hello Garci" case.
Even the late National Bureau of Investigation deputy director Samuel Ong
claimed that he had in his possession "the mother of all tapes" in connection
with the scandal.
The official said that since the military had the expertise to conduct
wiretapping activities, its personnel would not do it on their own and would
seek permission from a higher office.
The Armed Forces is under the Department of National Defense, now headed by
Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, one of the most trusted officials of President
Benigno Aquino 3rd.
The President is the commander-in-chief of all uniformed services. "No other
agency has the expertise to do wiretapping activities but the military," the
source said.
Easier Wiretapping during the "Hello Garci" scandal was done by recording the
conversation between Mrs. Arroyo and Garcillano. In Corona's case, his short
messaging service (SMS) was tapped, allowing somebody else to access messages
received or sent from his cellular phone.
The expert said that it would be much easier to access SMS than record phone
conversations because text messages could be read clearly and saved immediately.
"Mas madali i-wiretap ang text messages kaysa sa pakikinggan mo 'yung (It's
easier to tap text messages than recording) telephone conversation. But both can
be done," the source added.
According to him, President Aquino ordered all cellular phone companies to
shut down their services on January 9—the feast of the Black Nazarene—in
anticipation of a possible terrorist attack.
"If they can do it during the 'Hello Garci' scandal and recently during the
feast of the Black Nazarene, they can do it to Chief Justice Corona," the
official said.
The Times tried to get comments from members of the Corona family but they
refused.
Illegal
Wiretapping is illegal under Republic Act 4200, also known as an act to
prohibit and penalize wiretapping and other related violations of privacy of
communication, and for other purposes.
The government official pointed out that if indeed Corona was wiretapped by
the military, the resources of the government were used for an illegal activity
and the resources being used were taxpayers' money.
"The problem there is not only that the wiretapping is illegal in itself, but
the government is using its resources, the taxpayers money were being used to
their satisfaction," the source said.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved
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