HONASAN: TOO MUCH TIME SPENT ON
PSBank DOCUMENTS
MANILA, FEBRUARY 18, 2012 (ABS-CBN) By Ryan Chua - Sen. Gregorio
Honasan (photo) believes the Senate is spending too much time on determining
the authenticity of a document the prosecution attached to a request to open the
bank accounts of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
"Will it help us prove or disprove the articles of impeachment?" he said on
Friday. "Right now, I'm not getting that sense."
"We have the propensity to focus on things that may not be material," the
senator-judge added.
Honasan said he'd prefer that the Senate focus on the actual merits of the
case, considering that they have so much work to do, including legislation.
He added, however, that the impeachment court has no choice but to get to the
bottom of the issue.
"Iyon ang ginamit na attachment sa sa request for subpoena. Can you imagine
na ang dahilan mo para sabihin na may probable cause is a possibly spurious
document? Wasak ang buong premise mo," Honasan said.
On Monday, Rep. Jorge Banal will be called back to the impeachment court for
senators to ask him questions regarding his story that he got a copy of a
photocopied document on Corona's alleged dollar account from an unknown source.
Honasan said he's giving Banal the benefit of the doubt.
Senators will also tackle in caucus the prosecution panel's explanation on
how it got hold of the document.
Escudero: 'Fruit of the poisoned tree' won't apply
by Jojo Malig, ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 02/17/2012 6:48 PM | Updated
as of 02/17/2012 7:12 PM
MANILA, Philippines - The "fruit of the poisoned tree" legal metaphor
being raised by lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona for the Senate
impeachment court to ignore information regarding his bank records cannot be
used in his case, Senator-judge Francis Escudero said Friday.
Escudero, in an interview with dzMM, said a contested bank document that led
to revelations regarding Corona's accounts at Philippine Savings Bank (PS Bank)
is not even being offered as evidence by House prosecutors.
He said the signature card, the authenticity of which has been questioned,
was only used as an annex in a request by the prosecution for the impeachment
court to subpoena PSBank information on Corona's accounts.
"Iyung lohika ng 'fruit of the poisoned tree,' hindi mag-aaply dahil iyung
diumano nilabas na dokumento, ay hindi minamarkahan bilang ebidensiya. Hindi ho
ino-offer ng prosecution iyon. Hindi papasok iyung exclusionary rule na
tinatawag," Escudero explained.
"Hindi nga ino-offer as evidence. I think the defense might be going too far
to have all the bank accounts stricken off," he said.
He said it would be impractical to have the information about the contents of
Corona's bank accounts be stricken off from the impeachment court records.
"Napaka-impractical noon. Alam na namin, alam na ng publiko. Napakahirap para
sabihin sa isang judge na kalimutan mo lahat ng nakita at narinig mo," he said.
"To begin with, hindi ebidensiya iyung iprinisinta. Basehan lamang ng
pag-issue ng subpoena," he added.
Central Bank, DOJ task
Escudero said the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Department of Justice --
and not the Senate -- will look deeper into the authenticity of the signature
card as well as how it may have been leaked.
"Iyung illegality ng pagkakakuha sa impormasyon, hiwalay na liability iyon,"
he said. "Dapat gawin na ng DOJ [Department of Justice] at BSP [Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas] iyung kanilang trabaho sa pagi-imbestiga."
"Ang mag-dedetermine kung actual copy iyung inilabas, dapat Bangko Sentral
na," he added.
He said he would understand if a PSBank official denies that the document is
authentic.
"Intindihin din natin ang PS Bank. Kapag inamin nila iyon, lapses sa security
nila. Intindihin natin na itanggi [ng PSBank]," he said.
"Peke man iyon o hindi, it is up to the BSP or the DOJ to investigate
already," he added.
Senator-judge Jinggoy Estrada earlier said he doesn't believe PSBank
Katipunan bank manager Anabelle Tiongson's claim that the document is fake.
On Thursday, PS Bank President Pascual Garcia III said information in the
document is authentic.
He said the only difference he noticed with regard to similar documents is
the way that some of the information in the document is indicated.
Focus
Escudero, meanwhile, said the Senate should let the DOJ and the BSP handle
the bank leak and focus on its main task at hand, which is the actual
impeachment trial of Corona.
"Sang-ayon ako sa karamihan na medyo lumilihis na nga," he said, adding that
he raised the issue during one of the hearings this week.
"Siguro, isa, dalawang hearing tungkol dito (leak) pero nakakatatlong araw
na," he said. "Kaya nga kami nagsusot ng robe, para ipaalala na rin siguro,
hindi ito congressional inquiry. Ito ay isang paglilitis."
He said Garcia, who is expected to take to the witness stand again on Monday,
may present more information regarding Corona's bank accounts.
He was asked on Thursday by the Senate impeachment court to bring documents
regarding the closure of Corona's 3 bank accounts on the same day he was
impeached by Congress.
"Kapag may bago na namang ilalabas si Ginoong Garcia, magdi-direct
examination at magpapamarka na naman iyung prosecution," he said.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
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