EDITORIAL: THE BANK RECORDS
MANILA, FEBRUARY 16, 2012
(TRIBUNE) Bank records claimed by the prosecution as being
owned by the Supreme Court's Chief Justice's dollar account at the Philippine
Savings Bank were testified to by the PSBank Katipunan branch manager Annabelle
Tiongson as "fake," which puts the prosecutors in very hot water with the Senate
court.
Not only did the prosecutors submit copies of bank documents that are fake,
but also that these alleged bank records have been obtained illegally, which
they, as lawyers, certainly know cannot be admissible in any court — including
the Senate impeachment court.
The latest claim of the prosecutors is that they never said the records were
authentic, as these merely came from an "anonymous" individual described by
prosecutor Rep. Rey Umali as a "small lady" who had handed him the envelope
containing these records.
But as stated by Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III during the trial,
the Senate's CCTV tapes examined showed no one approaching Umali and handing him
anything, much less a "small lady."
Presiding Judge Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile warned the prosecutors
that they have no evidence and that their fishing expedition by way of gathering
evidence through subpoenas, will be a "fatal blow" to their case.
Not surprisingly, the highly partial and unfair Noynoy senator-judges who
have been acting as lawyers of the prosecution panel, obtaining testimony and
documents from the witnesses that cannot be obtained by the prosecutors, went
all out to lawyer for the incompetent prosecutors, seeking more and more
"evidence" of the bank records of the CJ.
Sen. Franklin Drilon even went as far as stating that, as the CJ had already
admitted to owning the bank accounts, that admission serves a permission from
the depositor to open his dollar bank records.
What Drilon and his partisan judges are forcing through is for the defense to
now come out with its "evidence", even when it is not yet the turn of the
defense. For lawyer-judges, that's pretty foul considering the fact that
processes must be respected. But as these are the same senator-judges who voted
for defying the SC TRO, what respect for the law from them can be expected?
So much for their vow of impartiality.
Still, even as Tiongson testified to the falsity of the bank documents
submitted by the prosecution as its annexes to obtain a subpoena from the court
for the bank records of both the alleged peso and dollar accounts, there remains
the issue of the bank records of the depositor — in this case, the CJ's —
leaked, and evidently to the prosecutors.
The leak can only come from the PSBank branch, considering the fact that
Tiongson did admit that the account numbers of the CJ in that bank, were
accurate. No one except the bank would have all these account numbers said to be
owned by the CJ.
What may have happened is that someone from the branch, possibly Tiongson,
since she is its bank branch manager and should know what is happening in her
branch, leaked out the bank records, but tried to conceal the bank "leakage" by
coming up with bogus deposit figures.
It is also being speculated that it was Tiongson who had leaked these
documents to lead prosecutor Niel Tupas Jr., and was trying to cover up for her,
and Tupas' underhanded ways of illegally disclosing bank records.
She was asked a very simple question by a senator-judge — on whether she knew
Tupas and whether Tupas was one of the more valued clients, which, in bank
language, means his deposits are in the millions. Yet Tiongson, while claiming
she had never met or talked to Tupas, responded by saying she won't confirm or
deny that Tupas is a bank account holder in her branch.
That is virtually saying that indeed, Tupas holds bank accounts in her
branch. Tiongson is after all the branch manager. It is impossible that she
would not even know who are the branch's valued clients. Valued clients are
given special treatment by the banks and even the tellers.
It is becoming much too clear that the prosecution has absolutely no evidence
to substantiate its allegations against the Chief Justice, and all because
Noynoy and his prosecutors used the House's impeachment tool to force the CJ to
resign, as the former Ombudsman did.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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