EVIDENCE
MANILA, FEBRUARY 24, 2012
(MALAYA) AMADO P. MACASAET ('The problem with the Chief
Justice is he cannot even be true to himself as proven by lying under oath in
his SALN. How can he be true to his country?')
THERE is some kind of dilemma in the Senate on whether or not the impeachment
court should accept as evidence documents covering the deposits, not declared in
his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, of impeached Chief Justice
Renato Corona.
The debate is over the interpretation of the Bank Secrecy Law that prevents
anybody from prying into a deposit record without the written permission of the
depositor or an order of the court.
We chanced upon the pertinent provision of the law and concluded that there
should be no debate at all.
Sec. 2 of the Bank Secrecy Law states "all deposits of whatever nature with
banks or banking institutions in the Philippines including investments in bonds
issued by the government of the Philippines, its political subsidiaries and its
instrumentalities, are hereby considered as of an absolutely confidential nature
and may not be examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government
official, bureau or office, except upon the written permission of the depositor
or in CASES OF IMPEACHMENT (emphasis ours) or upon order of a competent court in
cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials or in cases where
the money deposited is the subject matter of litigation."
We should all dispassionately take note of the fact that in cases of
impeachment disclosure (to the impeachment court) and examination of the details
of the deposits of Mr. Corona in this case since he is a respondent in an
impeachment trial is allowed.
The money deposited by the Chief Justice is the subject of litigation because
the amounts, increasing almost by the day, are not included or listed in his
statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.
They become subject of litigation following the ruling the Chief Justice
(when he was associate justice) wrote.
He stated in his ponencia that amounts in excess of what the income of a
state employee or official can buy are prima facie evidence that such excess is
ill-gotten.
It is clear that the Chief Justice cannot escape the provisions of Section 2
of the Bank Secrecy Law because he has been impeached and is going through
trial.
How can his lawyers in the present case reverse the intent of their client's
own ruling by not allowing the records of the deposits as evidence against the
Chief Justice?
This reminds me of King Canute who tried to roll back the waves just because
he is king.
Can the lawyers of Mr. Corona reverse the ponencia of their client for the
reason that he is Chief Justice?
Ordinary people like us insist that the fact of the Chief Justice being
impeached opens his deposits to admission as evidence against him or for him, if
as his lawyers say, the dollar portion of the deposits will be explained in due
time.
Right now or "in due time" has no relevance to the fact that the Head
Magistrate concurred in a ruling of his Court that dollars in the Foreign
Currency Deposit Unit are exclusively for Filipinos.
The FCDU law has the clear intent of attracting money of foreigners to the
FCDU for investments and lending to help make the economy grow. And again, the
alleged $700,000 deposit of the Chief Justice in a savings bank is not listed in
his SALN.
Therefore, he may be held liable for two violations. He is not a foreigner
and therefore does not have the right to make deposits in the FCDU. He hid the
deposits which cannot be justified by his income as associate justice or Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court.
The use of legalese, niceties and technicalities cannot sweep these
documented facts under the rug.
It may be edifying for the Chief Justice and his lawyers to recall (if they
read him at all) Francis Bacon's (1561-1626) essay Of Wisdom for a Man's Self
where he wrote: "For whatever affairs pass such a man's hands, he crooketh them
to his own ends, which must needs be often eccentric to the ends of his master
of state."
Before that line, Bacon wrote: "Divide with reason between self love and
society; and be so true to thyself as thou be not false to others specially to
thy king and country."
The problem with the Chief Justice is he cannot even be true to himself as
proven by lying under oath in his SALN. How can he be true to his country?
The Head Magistrate wrapped himself with his own lies, lies which he said in
his own ponencia are crimes or sins to others. But not to himself as he now
insists through his lawyers.
Visit his past and that of his wife. It tells a lot about the spouses. There
are legal documents to prove it.
It is in this sense, President Aquino, although he may be talking out of
turn, insists that the rule of law may never visit this land again if the Head
Magistrate is allowed to keep his office.
How can a plain public servant be dismissed from the service for not
declaring a market stall in his SALN but allows the Chief Justice to walk by
violating his own ruling on ill-gotten wealth?
Indeed what the Chief Justice wants and expects is one law exclusive to
himself and another law for ordinary mortals.
How many millions of pesos have we discovered as belonging to the Chief
Justice but not declared in his SALN?
Is this his way of preserving the respect and integrity of the Supreme Court
and accusing President Aquino that his impeachment is for the sole purpose of
destroying the Court because he wants one of his own, one similar to the one
described as being in the pocket of Gloria Arroyo?
We will not lend ourselves to this mockery.
[PHOTO - AMADO MACASAET: Publisher of Independent Media Inc,
Contributor-Malaya, Publisher-Malaya, Business Editor- Malaya, Chairman -
Philippine Press Institute, Critic of the Gloria Arroyo
Administration.
Also known as "Jake," Mr. Macasaet was the Business
Reporter of The Philippines Herald from 1963-1964. The following year he held
the position of Managing Editor of The Economic Monitor. He switched jobs once
again to work as Business reporter for the Manila Times from 1967-1970. At the
same time, he was the paper's Concurrent Agriculture Editor. From 1970-1972 he
was Assistant Business Editor.
This five year commitment to the Manila Times ended when he was chosen
as Senior Business Writer for the Bulletin Today in 1973. This stint lasted one
and a half years before he became Business Editor of The Times Journal.
Mr. Macasaet joined Malaya in March 17, 1986 as the Business Editor. On
July 16 of the same year he became Assistant Publisher. When he bought the
People's Independent Media, Inc. from Jose Burgos, he became Publisher and
Chairman of the Editorial Board.
Mr. Macasaet studied high school at the Mabini Academy in Lipa, City.
He took up courses in journalism at the University of Sto
Tomas.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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