PHNO-HL: CJ TESTIFIES ON TUESDAY / JPE: CJ CORONA WILL BE GIVEN DUE COURTESY

CJ TESTIFIES ON TUESDAY / JPE: CJ
CORONA WILL BE GIVEN DUE COURTESY

MANILA, MAY 18, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By Christina Mendez and
Marvin Sy - (PHOTO -Keh, Santos and Baraquel) - Four months after his
impeachment, Chief Justice Renato Corona will finally testify in his trial on
Tuesday, with his lawyers given the remaining days of this week to help him
prepare his testimony.
"The sole and only witness remaining is the respondent," defense lead counsel
former Justice Serafin Cuevas said, referring to the Chief Justice.
"No weekend for now. It would be embarrassing to seek extension from the
court so I am already apologetic. It is not a matter of right anymore," Cuevas
said.
Defense lawyer Jose Roy III manifested before the impeachment court that they
be allowed to
present Corona on Tuesday.
Impeachment court presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile initially turned down
the defense's request to make its next appearance on Tuesday, but eventually
relented.
"The matters presented in the report of the Ombudsman are quite voluminous,
and while we would like to prepare our best, the sheer number is quite awesome,"
Roy said, referring to the 17-page report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council
on Corona's dollar accounts that Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales presented in
her testimony on Monday.
"All right, so that you do not think that we are biased against him,
granted," Enrile said in response.
"If we have no witness by Monday, so logically, we will resume on Tuesday at
the request of the defense," Enrile told lead prosecutor Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas,
who sought a clarification on whether the trial would resume on Monday.
"In that case if the CJ will be presented on Tuesday, we have no objection,"
Tupas replied.
Cuevas expressed gratitude to Enrile for his "liberality and magnanimity" but
was rebuffed by the Senate President, who said "we are doing this in the
interest of justice."
Cuevas also asked the court for soft copies of the powerpoint presentation
made by Morales.
"There are a lot of matters discussed in them, we need a lot of time to
examine them, verify its correctness, verify its accuracy," Cuevas said.
After the trial, prosecution spokesman Rep. Erin Tañada expressed elation
over the defense's declaration.
"We hope that he comes out clean, open his accounts for everyone to
scrutinize. We are happy that we now have the final time and day that he will
testify," Tañada said in a press briefing.
Tañada also assured the defense panel that the Chief Justice would be given
due respect.
On Day 39 yesterday of the impeachment trial, the defense team presented the
three complainants in the charges filed against Corona before the Office of the
Ombudsman in a bid to prove that their complaints were baseless.
The witnesses were former Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel,
civil society leader Harvey Keh and lawyer-businessman Emmanuel Tiu-Santos.
3 days straight
Sen. Sergio Osmeña III said he believes the Chief Justice would be on the
witness stand for three straight days as he would likely face "hundreds of
questions" from senator-judges.
He said he expects the trial to focus on the issue of Corona's failure to
report his foreign currency deposits in his statements of assets, liabilities
and net worth (SALN).
He said that Corona would have to convince the senator-judges that it was an
innocent oversight on his part.
"But that is a lot of money to overlook," Osmeña admitted.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said that he is glad that the trial
is now in its last stretch.
"Hopefully we would verify, validate, confirm everything that we have heard
by next week and therefore we may be able to buckle down to reviewing our trial
briefs, the events that transpired, the records and journal that we have to
glance back through and be able to finally come out with an intelligent
decision," Sotto said.
Senator Loren Legarda, for her part, said that the Chief Justice would
finally be able to provide the answers to all of the questions that have been
troubling senator-judges.
"It's been five long months. We're not yet relieved but we're glad that he's
coming because the developments in the past days have left more questions
unanswered, which I believe only the respondent could explain," Legarda said.

"I always said that his testimony is crucial and we await his testimony," she
added.
Senate president pro-tempore Jinggoy Estrada said only Corona could revert
negative perception of him spawned by Morales' testimony.
"We will have to wait for the testimony of the CJ for him to refute or
proclaim those accounts," Estrada said in an interview.
"It will be up to the CJ to redeem himself. Justice Cuevas or any lawyer for
that matter can't do it. It's only the CJ who can save himself," Estrada said.

Estrada said he also wanted to know if the documents from the AMLC were
authentic. "Documents submitted to the impeachment court are all initials. I
don't know if those are signed by Mr. (Vicente) Aquino, the chairman of AMLA,"
the senator said.
Estrada said the Senate is baffled by stories of documents turning up,
purportedly coming from anonymous sources.
Corona's lawyers maintained that the testimonies of Morales should not be
taken hook, line and sinker because the alleged report from AMLC cannot be
verified nor authenticated by the Ombudsman.
Drilon confronts CJ lawyer
Sen. Franklin Drilon, meanwhile, questioned defense counsel Dennis Manalo's
assertion that the AMLC document presented by Morales was "grossly exaggerated,
unreliable, fabricated or at the very least comes from an illegal source."
Drilon quoted Manalo as saying that the AMLC report "would not stand any
legal scrutiny and would not be sufficient for the conviction of the Chief
Justice."
The AMLC report on which Morales based her testimony showed the supposed 82
dollar accounts owned by Corona, and at least $10 million in transactions over a
span of eight years, from 2003 to 2011.
The amounts were not declared in the Chief Justice's SALNs, the subject of
Article 2 of the impeachment complaint.
Drilon asked Manalo to explain his statement and reconcile it with previous
testimony of PS Bank president Pascual Garcia III confirming the existence of
dollar accounts of Corona.
The senator was referring to five dollar accounts with PSBank with numbers
141008145; 141007469; 141007129; 141002826; and 141000373.
"I repeat…Mr. Garcia admitted to the existence of these accounts. The only
reason why this court was not able to put on record the amounts on these
accounts was because the Supreme Court issued a restraining order, which the
court, by a vote of 13-10, voted to respect," Drilon said. "Do you insist that
these accounts were fictitious?"
"I am not in a position to confirm or deny these accounts. There will be a
witness who will be competent to give a response and either confirm that these
accounts indeed belong and are existing or indeed belonged to the Chief Justice
or deny that these accounts exist," Manalo replied.
Sen. Edgardo Angara, for his part, said the burden of proving the
authenticity of the document presented by Morales rests with the defense.
"That would be a burden on the part of the defense, the presumption of
regularity in the performance of official duty is strong. If you don't rebut
that, it will stand, so the communication between the Ombudsman and the AMLC
will be considered official and will be accepted if there is no contrary
evidence," Angara said.
More 'unexplained' wealth
Meanwhile, a May 12 report from the Office of the Ombudsman showed P677.4
million in "possible unexplained wealth" of Corona for the period 2001 to 2012.

The House of Representatives, the Senate and the AMLC have been provided
copies of the report.
The report was prepared by a panel chaired by assistant ombudsman Joselito
Fangon and was approved by Morales.
A summary of the "possible unexplained wealth" showed that the increase in
the net worth of the Chief Justice from 2001 to 2012 amounted to P8,970,980.

The fact-finding panel found several discrepancies between the total year-end
balances of the bank accounts of the Chief Justice submitted by PSBank and the
Bank of the Philippine Islands and the amounts he declared in his SALN.
Specifically, the panel listed the total year-end balances for years 2007,
2009 and 2010 for five accounts, the total discrepancy of which amounted to
P36,770,878.35.
The panel also included the alleged $10 million (P420 million) in dollar bank
transactions in several banks dated April 14, 2003 to Dec. 22, 2011.
Based on the investigation report, it was revealed that the AMLC asked for
additional documents and information from the panel so that they would have a
basis for filing a bank inquiry from the courts.
"In relation to the bank accounts of subject Corona, this office sought the
assistance of the Anti-Money Laundering Council. Per reply-letter dated 07 March
2012 and per subsequent discussion with the AMLC officials, they require further
information and supporting documents showing the commission of any underlying
unlawful activity by subject Corona to warrant the filing of an application for
bank inquiry with the regional trial court pursuant to Section 11 of R.A. 9160
(Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001)," the report stated.
The panel noted that it was the Ombudsman herself who managed to obtain the
information about the dollar and peso bank transactions of the Chief Justice.

In her testimony before the impeachment court last Tuesday, Morales said that
her information about the $10 million in financial transactions of the Chief
Justice came from the AMLC, acting on her request.
The panel also listed the combined income of the Chief Justice and his wife,
Maria Cristina Corona, at P30,369,120.13 from 2002 to 2011.
This was based on the various sources of income of the Chief Justice reported
in the impeachment court amounting to P27,145,472.68.
The figures represented Corona's income from the Supreme Court and the
Judicial and Bar Council, the Senate Electoral Tribunal, House of
Representatives Electoral Tribunal and the Office of the President, which was in
2001 or before his appointment to the Supreme Court.
In the case of Mrs. Corona, the panel cited her income as a member of the
board of the John Hay Development Corporation from 2007 to 2010 amounting to
P3,223,647.45.
As far as the real properties of the Chief Justice are concerned, the panel
noted that Corona did not indicate the acquisition cost in his SALN.
The panel cited four condominium properties in Quezon City, Makati City and
Taguig City with a total acquisition cost of P30,017,896.82.
"Analyzing the accumulated wealth of subject Corona for the period 2001-2010
by using the acquisition value of the acquired real assets and the bank
transactions in comparison to the supposed income earned and known income from
2001-2011, it is apparent that subject Corona has acquired wealth that is not
commensurate to his known income," the panel stated. With
Alexis Romero
JPE: CJ will be given due courtesy By Christina
Mendez (The Philippine Star) Updated May 18, 2012 12:00 AMComments (13)

MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona is assured of
respect and fair treatment from senators when he appears in his impeachment
trial on Tuesday next week, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said yesterday.

"It's in our rules. He cannot be insulted or harassed," Enrile said in
Filipino.
He expressed hope that Corona will readily answer all the accusations against
him in his first appearance before the Senate impeachment court.
Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he wants to hear from the Chief Justice first
before making any judgment.
"I just try to keep an open mind and wait for whatever comes. It's very hard
to have prejudgment. We've been saying all along that CJ Corona testifying is
the best," Marcos said.
"Now he's there, the defense has granted our wish. Let's listen to what he
has to say, to what he wants us to know about the issue," Marcos added in
Filipino.
He said he doesn't think Corona would be evasive or would invoke his right
against self-incrimination if confronted with tough questions.
"I think once he comes here, he is prepared. He is a lawyer and he would know
what issues to be asked. I think he will be ready so let's just wait for his
testimony," he said. "The rules of court are very clear. Of course there would
be misunderstanding, but everyone has guaranteed respect for CJ so we go by
their word," he said.
No holds barred
Public and private prosecutors said they are expecting no-holds barred
testimony from Corona, stressing that his mere denial of the charges against him
"will be self serving."
"Of course, we expect him to tell the truth and support his story with
documents. It should be a no-holds-barred testimony and he should not invoke his
right against self-incrimination," Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said.
He said Corona should not just make a general statement denying the testimony
of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales that he kept more than $12 million in 82
accounts in five banks between 2003 and 2011.
"A general denial will be self-serving. It will have lesser weight than the
testimony of the Ombudsman and the documents she presented to the impeachment
court, which came from the Anti-Money Laundering Council," he said.
Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada said the prosecution panel would be just as prepared
for "surprises" as it had been before the trial resumed on May 7.
"We had anticipated then that the defense might spring a surprise and present
the Chief Justice or his wife as its witness," he said.
"If he does not answer certain questions, he will be put in an embarrassing
situation," he added.
Asked how the Chief Justice might explain his alleged $12 million in bank
deposits, Tañada said, "Either of two things: he can own the funds and explain
where they came from, or he can say it's not his money and it belongs to
Basa-Guidote Enterprises, the family corporation of Corona's wife."
"If he claims the funds are not his, he has to explain why they were held
under his name. He has to come up with a credible story," he said.
He noted that defense lawyers and spokesmen had asserted in interviews
outside the impeachment court that the P31 million found in Corona's bank
accounts in 2010 belonged to BGEI.
"I think his testimony will be a do-or-die performance. He has to present his
side under oath before the impeachment court and before our people, most of
whom, based on surveys, want him convicted," he said. "He owes it to our people
to explain those millions in peso and dollar deposits and his nondisclosure of
such deposits and at least three condominium units," he said.
As to who among members of the prosecution panel would cross-examine Corona,
Angara said there is no decision yet on the matter. "I'm sure there will be many
volunteers. This is a lawyer's dream – to cross-examine the Chief Justice," he
said.
But Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, manager of the prosecution panel, said
two of its top private lawyers – Mario Bautista and Arthur Lim – would grill
Corona.
Abaya said the panel is again going over the Articles of Impeachment in
preparation for the last stretch of the trial, with Corona himself on the
witness stand.
"We wanted to be prepared just in case the defense would plant a surprise for
us. We could not just relax," he said.
Bautista, 57, had played a role in the impeachment of then President Joseph
Estrada in 2001. It was he who presented bank executive Clarissa Ocampo who
would later testify seeing Estrada himself sign bank documents as Jose Velarde.

Lim had served as president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)
and had been a signatory to a manifesto supporting Corona's impeachment.
Good fight
The defense panel, meanwhile, vowed to put up a good fight. "If we are to
lose, we shall lose fighting," lead counsel Serafin Cuevas told reporters.
"The claim about deposits could be the biggest aspect because with regard to
the properties, I think the impeachment court is already convinced that (the
Chief Justice) only owns five instead of 45," he said.
The prosecution initially accused Corona of owning 45 properties but later
admitted there were only 21. "He (Corona) can't remain silent about (these
allegations)," Cuevas said.
"We are in a conference dealing with every aspect of the case and we wanted
him (Corona) to be informed. We have to go over the transcript (of the
hearings)," he added.
Cuevas also insisted that Corona's dollar deposits are protected by the law.
"The grant of confidentiality is absolute. These (foreign currency accounts) are
absolutely confidential and may not be inquired into and investigated by any
person or public official," Cuevas said.
"Whether it will be sustained by the court is another story," he added.
Defense panel spokesman Rico Quicho said Republic Act 6426 or the Foreign
Currency Deposit Act should be applied "stringently."
"The purpose of the law is to (maintain) strict confidentiality of accounts,"
he said in a press briefing after Tuesday's trial.
Cuevas maintained that the AMLC data cited by the Ombudsman should not be
considered evidence.
"I wonder how the impeachment court now can consider it as evidence. It is
not embodied or mentioned in any other Articles of Impeachment," Cuevas said.

"It may be ordered admitted but I do not think it deserved the weight the
prosecution expects," he added.
More proof of SALN lapse
As defense and prosecution lawyers gird for a final showdown, Sen. Franklin
Drilon said the Anti-Money Laundering Council's (AMLC) report on Corona's bank
transactions revealed that the Chief Justice had failed to declare P33 million
in cash in his SALN.
Morales made a PowerPoint presentation of the AMLC report before the
impeachment court on Monday.
In an interview with ANC News Channel, Drilon said that based on his
analysis, the figures in the AMLC report matched those of the account numbers
provided by PSBank president Pascual Garcia III to the Senate impeachment court
last February.
"I think the defense is left with no choice but to present the CJ because no
one else could explain this because these are personal accounts to him. We will
be very respectful of him, given his office. But we will ask questions because
that is our duty as senator-judges," Drilon said.
He said the AMLC report showed a deposit of $768,733.96 in one bank account
of Corona with PSBank Katipunan branch (1910003373) on Oct.31, 2008.
In his SALN for 2008, Corona only reported a total of P2.5 million in cash
and investments. In the same AMLC document, $769,681.71 was withdrawn from the
same account on Dec. 15, 2011.
"This account number was confirmed by the PSBank as an account of CJ Corona,"
Drilon said. "So, all that I did to analyze – on Dec. 31, 2008, this account was
existing because this was opened on Dec. 31, 2008. Yearend 2008, it was there;
yearend 2009, it was there; yearend 2010, it was there. It was only withdrawn
before yearend 2011," Drilon said.
"Then, you check it against the SALN whether or not it was there. As you
pointed out, it's about P40 million. Now, in the SALN, it's about P2.5 to P3
million as cash reported," he added.
"And there are five dollar accounts confirmed by the PSBank. It (account
number ending 0373) was just one of them. So, let's just keep on contextualizing
it, put it in proper context. That is our job as senator-judges, to see and
review the evidence presented. That's why I ask questions," Drilon said.
"There is an obligation to report because the purpose of the law is
transparency. That is what the law says. It is an accountability law. If you
don't want to account for your wealth, get out of government. So, this is the
issue and this is how I reviewed the evidence so far," Drilon said.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, for his part, said some of Corona's dollar
holdings may have come from former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo.
"One glaring question is, did they come from Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?" he
said.
It was Arroyo who appointed Corona as associate justice and later as chief
justice. Corona briefly served as Arroyo's Palace counsel and executive
secretary when she was president.
Colmenares said the decision of defense lawyers not to subpoena officers of
the AMLC and the five banks where Corona has accounts has bolstered suspicion
that the Chief Justice has questionable assets.
"As of now it is very clear to the Filipino people that Corona has a lot of
money not declared in his SALN and is way above his means," he said.
At Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that contrary to
the defense panel's claim, the report presented by Morales should be presumed
regular and authentic because it came from the ALMC and from reputable banks.

"These are all documents or data coming from the respective banks. So are you
asking me if they are authentic? I would assume that they are regular because
they are, these are the regular duties imposed on the banks to report to the
AMLC," Lacierda said.
"The Ombudsman relied on the waivers on the SALN to conduct the fact-finding
investigation on the Chief Justice," Lacierda said rejecting the defense's claim
that Morales abused her powers when she made the AMLC report public.
Meanwhile, former Isabela governor Grace Padaca said "Kaya Natin" movement
convenor Harvey Keh – despite getting a tongue lashing from Sen. Miriam Santiago
– should be credited for helping force the defense panel to finally let Corona
take the witness stand.
"Keh has pricked the ego of Corona and made him declare his readiness to face
the Senate impeachment court," Padaca said.
Keh was chastised by senators on Wednesday for delivering confidential bank
records of Corona to Enrile's office and not to the Ombudsman. With Jess Diaz, Aurea Calica, Marvin Sy, Paolo Romero, Alexis
Romero, and Raymund Catindig



Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi

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NEWS ONLINE
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