TRIAL ADMONISHED
[PHOTO - Senator
Panfilo Lacson. INQUIRER FILE
PHOTO]
MANILA, JANUARY 6, 2012 (INQUIRER) By
Maila Ager INQUIRER.net - The impeachment court should admonish not only
the prosecutors but even the defense team for violations of rules when they
publicly discussed the merits of the case against Supreme Court Chief Justice
Renato Corona, Senator Panfilo Lacson said on Tuesday.
"As a senator judge, I cannot sit idly by and watch blatant violations of our
Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials that unambiguously prohibits senator
judges as well as prosecutors, the person impeached, their counsels, and
witnesses from making any comments and disclosures in public pertaining to the
merits of a pending impeachment trial," Lacson, who is sitting as judge in the
impeachment trial, said in a statement.
"If we allow such undisciplined public presentation of evidence by any party
in utter disregard of the ethics of their legal profession to continue, the
Senate may lose control of the situation and I am certain it will damage not
just the Senate as an impeachment court but the sacredness of the whole
impeachment process as well," he said.
"We should not allow such mockery to go unchecked. Either we throw our
impeachment rules out of the window or straight to their faces," Lacson added.
The senator issued the statement after chief prosecutor, Iloilo
Representative Niel Tupas Jr. presented documents at a press conference on
Monday about a property in Taguig City allegedly owned by Corona, which could be
used as evidence against him.
The public presentation of evidence outside the impeachment court, Lacson
said, is prohibited under the rules.
"Yes, rules are there to be followed," he said when asked if Tupas could be
penalized by the court.
" In the meantime, a general admonition may be proper. Tupas is not the only
one. The defense team has similar violations," Lacson added.
Corona owns another luxe condo in Taguig, say prosecutors
By Cynthia D. Balana Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:11 am | Thursday,
January 5th
YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN This house at 95 Xavierville Avenue in Quezon
City is the registered address of Chief Justice Renato Corona. JOAN BONDOC
Another condominium unit, this time at the plush Bonifacio Ridge in Taguig
City, will supposedly form part of the evidence of graft and corruption at the
impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
The two-bedroom unit has a floor area of 113.02 square meters, a parking
slot, and is worth about P5-8 million, according to a source in the 11-member
prosecuting panel from the House of Representatives.
The source, who requested anonymity for lack of clearance to speak on the
matter, quoted Certificate of Title No. 5582.
Bonifacio Global City is home to such upscale residential condominium
buildings as Essensa, Serendra, Pacific Plaza Towers, Bonifacio Ridge, The
Bellagio and Regent Parkway.
Its website states that Bonifacio Ridge is a 2-tower residential condominium
development by Mackay Properties. It is located right beside Fairway 13 of the
Manila Golf course and offers fantastic views of the greens as well as the
skyline of Makati City's central business district.
On Tuesday, the prosecution panel released documents showing that Corona and
his wife purchased in December 2009 a P14.51-million, 303.5-sq-m unit with three
parking slots at Megaworld Corp.'s The Bellagio in December 2009.
The panel said the unit was one of four prime properties under the name of
the Corona couple.
The third property to be presented by the prosecution team is another
condominium unit in Makati, and the fourth, recent acquisitions, are a house and
lot in Quezon City, according to the source in the panel.
The source described the four properties as "two big, one medium and one
small" in terms of space, not necessarily in terms of the amount involved.
No comment
Serafin Cuevas, Corona's lead counsel, declined to comment on the latest
allegation of graft against the Chief Justice.
"We're not yet in trial. They have yet to prove that Corona owns [those
properties]," he said.
Cuevas also warned the House prosecution panel against releasing alleged
evidence of graft against the Chief Justice which are not included in the
articles of impeachment.
"That's not embodied in their complaint. Under the Rules of Procedure, you
cannot present evidence on anything that is not alleged in your pleading,"
Cuevas said.
He said the panel should not present its evidence against Corona "piecemeal."
"If they included that [in the complaint], we could have controverted that in
our answer. I thought they were very well prepared. Why are they still looking
for evidence now?" he said.
Megaworld mum
In a statement sent by investor relations officer John Hao, Megaworld kept
mum on the House prosecution's claim that Corona had acquired a penthouse unit
at The Bellagio.
"The company has a privacy policy under which it is committed to maintain all
client information in strictest confidence. Consistent with this commitment, the
company does not, as a matter of policy, disclose information pertaining to
business dealings with its clients," said Megaworld, which is led by property
tycoon Andrew Tan.
If the company is summoned to testify at the impeachment trial, "we shall
comply with the official orders of the authorities in a proper forum," an
official Megaworld spokesperson said.
The Corona issue had no impact on the trading of Megaworld's shares at the
stock market yesterday, dealers said.
Its shares closed unchanged at P1.74 per share, giving it a market
capitalization of P44.6 billion. Shares of its parent firm, Alliance Global
Group Inc., rose by 2.1 percent to P10.66, giving it a P107.22-billion market
cap.
Both companies are part of the main Philippine Stock Exchange index, a basket
of the Philippines' largest and most liquid companies.
A stock dealer said that while the Corona issue had no fundamental effect on
Megaworld, it would be interesting to find out who had paid for the penthouse
unit and whether the payment was made in cash or check.
Final assignments
At a news briefing, Marikina Representative Romero Quimbo, the panel
spokesperson, announced the final assignments of the House prosecutors who will
argue the eight articles of impeachment against Corona at the Senate sitting as
an impeachment court.
Article 1, concerning Corona's purported partiality and loyalty to former
President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, will be
handled by Deputy Speaker Raul Daza, Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares
and Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr., the chief prosecutor.
Article 2, concerning Corona's statement of assets, liabilities and net
worth, will be handled by Pangasinan Representative Marilyn Primicias-Aggabas
and Dasmariñas City Representative Elpidio Barzaga Jr.
Article 3, concerning the Chief Justice's competence, integrity, probity and
independence, or lack of it, which also involves ex-parte communication and his
wife, will be handled by Isabela Representative Giorgidi Aggabao, Akbayan
Representative Kaka Bag-ao and Citizens' Battle Against Corruption
Representative Sherwin Tugna.
Article 4, concerning the Supreme Court's temporary restraining order (TRO)
on the travel ban on Arroyo, will be handled by Bag-ao and Oriental Mindoro
Representative Reynaldo Umali.
Article 5, concerning the flip-flopping decisions of the Chief Justice,
particularly on the issues of the League of Cities, Dinagat Island, as well as
the Philippine Airlines' union of flight attendants, will be handled by Barzaga
and Aggabao.
Article 6, concerning the formation of the Supreme Court ethics committee on
the case of Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo and the charge of plagiarism
against him, will be handled by Tugna and Ilocos Norte Representative Rodolfo
Fariñas.
Article 7, concerning the hasty issuance of the TRO on the watch-list order
on Arroyo, will be handled by Colmenares and Daza.
Article 8, concerning the special allowance of justices as well as the
alleged irregularities in the use of the Judicial Development Fund, will be
handled by Umali and Aggabao.
Preparations
Quimbo said the House prosecutors would be assisted by teams of private
counsels.
He said the panel and the private counsels had been divided into smaller
groups and were meeting regularly to prepare for the Senate trial.
Quimbo admitted that the Corona impeachment was a difficult one. He said the
fact that practically all lawyers were beholden to the Chief Justice added to
the challenge.
"But with the level of preparation that is being undertaken every day that
passes, we are becoming more confident that we will be able to prove our case,"
he said. With reports from Marlon Ramos and Doris C. Dumlao
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved
PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
