IN CORONA TRIAL
[PHOTO - BELMONTE AND AQUINO]
MANILA, FEBRUARY
14,
2012 (PHILSTAR) By Paolo Romero - Speaker
Feliciano Belmonte Jr. yesterday downplayed efforts to file an impeachment
complaint against President Aquino by a taxpayer over an alleged fraudulent sale
of a government property in Baguio City.
Belmonte was commenting on the move of Danilo Lihaylihay, president of the
Philippine Association of Revenue Informers Inc., to have Aquino impeached for
allegedly committing "massive tax fraud" for the P500-million sale of the
3.4-hectare government property known as Governor's Park located along Session
Road in Baguio City.
In his affidavit-complaint, Lihaylihay said Aquino, along with Executive
Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and SM
Investments, "committed massive tax evasion fraud and graft and corrupt
practices through conspiracy and connivance" for failing to remit to the
government the taxes due resulting from the sale of the government property.
Lihaylihay wrote House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez asking him
to endorse the complaint so the impeachment process against Aquino can start.
But the Speaker said the President had nothing to do with the sale since the
transaction of selling the property to SM happened between the time of then
President Fidel Ramos and the completion of documentation in 2011. "This
(complaint) will not fly because it is baseless and unfounded. The President has
nothing to do with the transaction. The story was not true. The auction and
award were done in 1992 and the full payment was in 1997. The documentation was
completed in 2011," Belmonte said. Members of the minority bloc in the House of
Representatives held a closed door meeting yesterday to discuss Lihaylihay's
complaint.
After the meeting, Suarez said he was given the authority by opposition
lawmakers to study the complaint and decide whether it was worthy of
endorsement.
"We have to conduct some research on this. We need to communicate with
concerned agencies on this particular transaction. We have to study the
complaint carefully," Suarez told The STAR. Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep.
Lorenzo Tañada III said the complaint has "no basis and it will not prosper."
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said "any member of Congress or any citizen has
the right to file impeachment raps against certain officials in the government."
Lihaylihay had earlier accused former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo of plunder for the alleged illegal sale of the old Iloilo
airport. – With Artemio Dumlao
FROM ABS-CBN
PNoy: Peso accounts enough to convict Corona
ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 02/13/2012 10:32 PM | Updated as of
02/13/2012 11:08 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona's peso bank
accounts that were not reflected in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and
Net worth (SALNs) are enough for the Senate impeachment court to find him guilty
and remove him from office, President Benigno Aquino said on Monday.
"Doon pa lang sa na-unearth na peso accounts, malaki na ang diperensya na
mukhang napatunayan na iyung kaso," he said after a command conference with
officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Aquino said the differences in Corona's SALNs and cash in bank accounts can
prove Article 2 of the impeachment complaint.
Article 2 accuses Corona of not truthfully disclosing his SALNs as required
by the Constitution.
Corona had a total bank balance of P19,728,555.39 from 2 peso accounts in
Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) as of end-December 2010, records from the bank
showed last Wednesday.
Corona also had a total bank balance of P12 million in a Bank of the
Philippine Islands (BPI) checking account as of December 31, 2010, bringing to
P31,752,623.09 his cash in 3 accounts from 2 different banks as of the end of
2010.
These bank balances are much higher than the P3.5 million cash and
investments he declared in his SALN for 2010.
Various documents from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Registrars of
Deeds in cities where the Coronas have real properties also show discrepancies
between his actual properties and what he declared in his SALNs.
Aquino believes the prosecution will have other avenues to secure other
relevant data related to the impeachment complaint.
'Defense losing confidence'
When asked about the defense's allegation that the Palace is offering a P100
million bribe to each senator-judge, Aquino said the defense team may be losing
confidence in themselves.
"Noong araw wala nang nagawa kung hindi laitin ang prosecution panel. Ngayon
para bang nawalan sila ng tiwala sa kakayahan nilang lampasuin ang ating mga
prosecutors," Aquino said.
He added he will not give dignity to the defense's allegation by commenting
further on the issue. "Di ko na siguro bibigyan ng dignidad ang kanilang mga
akusasyon."
He reminded the defense lawyers to present proof when making an accusation. -
report from Jasmin Romero, ABS-CBN News
FROM BLOGGER GETREALPHILIPPINES.COM
President Noynoy Aquino meddling in Corona impeachment trial
February 13, 2012 By Ilda
President Noynoy Aquino (PNoy) released yet another disturbing
statement when he voiced his disappointment over the Supreme Court's decision to
grant the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the Senate impeachment court
order compelling PSbank to release records on foreign currency accounts
allegedly belonging to impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Considering PNoy insisted that he took no part in the decision to impeach the
Chief Justice, why does he feel the need to help the prosecution by meddling in
the proceedings of the impeachment court?
House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez could not help but notice
that the President is throwing his weight around again and had "blatantly and
carelessly displayed his gang-lord mentality."
As usual, the President gave lame reasons behind his challenging Chief
Justice Corona into disclosing the said account. He "dared Corona to voluntarily
open his dollar accounts to scrutiny to prove he had nothing to hide."
But why should he? Even House Deputy Minority Leader and Zambales Rep.
Milagros Magsaysay found it ridiculous that PNoy expects the Chief Justice to
incriminate himself.
No one in his right mind will incriminate himself," Magsaysay said.
"The burden of proof is with the accusers, and so far they have been bungling
and messing up their cause.
"The President and his cohorts know deep in their hearts that the purported
pieces of bank evidence against the chief justice were illegally acquired, and
therefore are questionable, toxic documents with no probative value and that are
inadmissible in court."
What PNoy is asking is akin to saying, "I want to prove you are corrupt but
you have to give me some evidence." And as mentioned before, the presentation of
Corona's alleged dollar accounts and his existing peso accounts are not covered
by the articles of impeachment. The impeachment court resolved earlier that the
evidence for Article 2.4 would be disallowed. Article 2.4 pertains to the
alleged "ill-gotten wealth" of the Chief Justice.
PNoy and his mouthpieces in the media also insinuated that Chief Justice
Corona is hiding behind the law. Never mind that it was PSbank that sought the
TRO from the Supreme Court.
It seems that to PNoy, any move even by private institutions that appear to
favor PNoy's political enemies is seen as a desperate act of hiding the "truth".
Likewise, he implied that PSBank could be protecting people who are into money
laundering and other criminal activities when he said that "laws protecting
foreign currency accounts from undue scrutiny were not meant to protect
criminals and their loot stashed as dollar deposits in the country's banks."
PNoy asked another head scratcher when he threw the question "Can persons who
did something wrong place the proceeds of their crimes into a dollar account?"
As if he is not even aware that some people are already doing that.
I personally think that he should refrain from thinking aloud specially in
front of the media because what comes out tends to show just how clueless he is.
Obviously, some people are already using that loophole in the law.
But one can't assume that just because someone has a dollar account he or she
is already hiding something. Speaking of dollar accounts, on Friday Malacañang
refused to divulge PNoy's dollar accounts. If PNoy doesn't want to show his, how
can he expect others to show theirs?
In trying to convince the public that issuing a TRO against the disclosure of
the alleged dollar accounts was wrong, PNoy also mentioned that it could have an
impact on the economy.
His statement is another indication that his views about the economy seem
quite limited. When he acknowledged that the law could encourage depositors, he
should have already realized that it would be good for the economy.
The President of the Philippines should know that "the exemption of the
foreign currency deposits from attachment, garnishment or any other order
process of any court is to assure the development and speedy growth of the
Foreign Currency Deposit System and the Offshore Banking System in the
Philippines; another reason is to encourage the inflow of foreign currency
deposits into the banking institutions thereby placing such institutions more in
a position to properly channel the same to loans and investments in the
Philippines, thus directly contributing to the economic development of the
country."
Another point the chief executive tried to make was when he cited that in
1989, the Supreme Court decided to allow the disclosure of Greg Bartelli y
Northcott's dollar account in his trial for the rape of then 12 year-old Karen
Salvacion. First of all, it is worth stressing that it was the Supreme Court,
not an Impeachment Court, who decided to allow it; and second, PNoy conveniently
forgot to mention that R.A. 6426 was held to be "inapplicable" to that case
because of its "peculiar circumstances." Here is the final transcript of the
ruling:
R.A. 6426 are hereby held to be INAPPLICABLE to this case because of its
peculiar circumstances. Respondents are hereby REQUIRED to COMPLY with the writ
of execution issued in Civil Case No. 89-3214, Karen Salvacion, et al. vs. Greg
Bartelli y Northcott, by Branch CXLIV, RTC Makati and to RELEASE to petitioners
the dollar deposit of respondent Greg Bartelli y Northcott in such amount as
would satisfy the judgment.
The reason why it was peculiar was because the suspect, an American tourist
escaped from jail and after "hearing the testimony of Karen, the Court
[believed] that it was undoubtedly a shocking and traumatic experience", which
required compensation.
Obviously, the decision of the Supreme Court in the Salvacion case in 1989
cannot be applied to the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona now because
the latter hasn't been found guilty or liable for any damages yet.
What's disturbing in PNoy's meddling is when he said that the "Palace was
considering appealing the TRO on the basis the Supreme Court may not interfere
in impeachment proceedings."
Again, the President's minders need to remind him that he cannot interpret
the law the way he wants to because the Supreme Court is the sole and final
interpreter of the law. Otherwise, he is just confirming to the public the
allegations that he is the main instigator in the bid to oust Chief Justice
Corona.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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