JPE: NO PROOF IN IMPEACH TRIAL OF ANY CORONA
CORRUPT ACT, ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH
MANILA, JUNE 1, 2012 (TRIBUNE) By Angie M. Rosales and Fernan J.
Angeles - Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona may have been
stripped of his position but pursuing further criminal charges against him may
prove futile as no evidence was presented to pin him down for any corrupt act or
prove that he has amassed wealth illegally during the impeachment trial, Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile pointed out yesterday.
Enrile practically relayed a message to Malacanang that it cannot come up
with a case against Corona based on the impeachment proceedings, even if the
former chief magistrate was convicted by the impeach court through a 20-3 vote.
Malacaang, however, is hell-bent on pursuing forfeiture and ill-gotten wealth
cases against Corona.
Deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said that the Office of the
Ombudsman is currently looking at two cases that were recently filed. She said
that the two new cases included forfeiture and another graft complaint for
ill-gotten wealth.
Asked whether the administration would push through with its earlier
pronouncement to make Corona criminally liable even after resignation,
retirement or removal from office, Valte said not one of the three modes of
departure from government service would make Corona immune from criminal
liabilities.
There are already complaints at Office of the Ombudsman forIf I remember
correctly the first is for forfeiture, and another complaint for ill-gotten
wealth for graft. We will leave it up to the Office of the Ombudsman to decide
on the disposition and investigation, further investigation of these cases,
Valte said.
Among the assets which may be subjected to forfeiture
include his cash on hand, peso deposits, the controversial $ 2.4 million
dollar savings, real properties like parcels, houses and condominium units.
In effect, Malacanang gets to turn down Sen. Jinggoy Estradas appeal for the
administration to drop plans of pursuing cases that would further pin down a
seriously hurt person. Estrada said Coronas ouster as chief magistrate is more
than enough punishment on the former head of the Supreme Court.
Valte would not however consider it as such even as she claims to be unaware
as to whom Sen. Estrada actually addressed his call to leave Corona alone.
Well, I do not have information on who that particular ally Senator Estrada
called. I am not aware of any conversation. So I really dont have information on
that. But again, we wish to stress that there are complaints that are already
pending with the Office of the Ombudsman, who we all know is an independent
institution from the Executive, she added.
When sought to define the Presidents preference on what other criminal
charges should be filed against Corona, Valte said: That will We dont want to
say anything about that because that A resolution finding probable cause would
be entirely dependent on the Ombudsman, on their appreciation of the pieces of
evidence that are submitted to them. So we dont want to make any comment on
that, she quipped.
Despite the seeming determination of Malacaang to run Corona to the ground
for alleged failure to be transparent, President Aquino wont be swayed, forced
or compelled to sign a waiver that would allow a public scrutiny on his bank
deposits.
Valte shrugged off clamor for the President to keep a promise he made when he
ran for President back in 2010. During the 2010 presidential election campaign,
Aquino was said to have strongly emphasizing transparency and in saying so found
himself making a vow to waive his rights under the bank secrecy laws and open
his bank accounts to the public.
Valte described such call to compel Aquino to sign a waiver similar to the
one that former chief Justice Renato Corona signed during the homestretch of the
impeachment trial at the Senate, as grossly unfair, even as she averred that
compelling the Malacanang chief executive to do such is like taking the
President to the same level and category of the ousted chief magistrate.
Taking her cue from Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who said it first,
Valte described Coronas signed waiver as no more than theatrics.
Is it fair to put the President who has not been accused of graft, who has
not been accused of dishonesty to put him in the same category as the man who
was just removed from his post? Valte said.
She added that the Presidents statements of assets, liabilities, and net
worth, as well as his Cabinets and other officials, already contain a waiver
authorizing the Ombudsman to secure from all relevant government agencies
information about an officials assets, liabilities, net worth, business
interests, and financial connections.
There is already a waiver in the SALN that authorizes the Ombudsman to get
all the relevant information from all government offices. Under the bank secrecy
law, in the SALN form, there is already an exception clause that would trigger
the opening of the accounts, she added
Valte reiterated the Aquino administrations thrust on transparency and
accountability remains.
Do we put other people in that same situation even when they are not accused
of hiding anything? The members of the cabinet have all declared their assets.
Their SALNs have been available to the public since they were sworn into office,
she added.
Interestingly, Valte declared that the President has no foreign currency
deposits perhaps in an effort to ward off more pressing questions on Aquinos
treasure chest.
Enriles statements were in relation to reports that the administration is
mulling filing charges against Corona, possibly forfeiture proceedings following
his own admission of his millions of dollar and peso bank accounts.
The upper chamber chief who acted as the presiding officer in Coronas trial,
said that among the evidence presented before the impeachment court, none could
prove that his undisclosed assets and properties that he failed disclose in his
filed statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) were borne out of
corruption.
Theres none. What were presented and uncovered were that there were assets
included and excluded, high-value assets, in his statement of assets,
liabilities and networth (SALn).
And I did not see any evidence that his properties were acquired illegally,
he said.
Government can initiate forfeiture proceedings, if they can find any issue on
some supposed tax problems, Enrile said.
But they will have to carefully study their (tax) case, if there would be
any. If they can find anything such as that he failed to pay appropriate taxes.
But violation of graft and corruption laws, much less plunder, theres none, he
added.
Enrile shared the sentiment aired by Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy
Estrada as well as Senators Edgardo Angara and Francis Chiz Escudero for the
government to abandon the idea of filing fresh cases against the removed chief
magistrate.
Yes I believe that chapter has ended. Its up to the government whether or not
it wants to stop the division in our society and exercise compassion, he said.
Angara reiterated his call to the government, even cautioning that it will
only create an image of being a vindictive administration.
What I dont want to see is a vindictive government. He (Corona) would then be
able to prove that he was pursued out of vindictiveness. No government should
appear to be or seem to be vindictive, he told reporters during the weekly news
forum at the Senate.
I think the man is punished enough by being removed from such a high position
and being perpetually disqualified from holding any pulic office. I think we
should stop there. If there is some person who is aggrieved, like his family,
then that is another matter. But using the states power to prosecute and pursue
him, that may be overstretching things, he said.
But pursuing some other penal or criminal punishment, like sending him to
jail, I think even the Filipino people would draw the line there, he said.
On the issue of any tax liability that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
might lodge against Corona, the senator said the matter can be settled as a
private dispute.
Angara also relayed what he claimed as positive feedback he has been
receiving from the business community on the conduct and the result of the
impeachment trial, insofar as the countrys economy is concerned.
Based on feedback that I got from the business community, from business
organizations like the chambers and the organizations of employers, I think its
quite positive to the extent that theyre saying that our credit rating may even
be officially upgraded by rating agencies, he said.
Our credibility may have gotten up as a result of what happened in this hall,
referring the 44-day trial proceedings conducted by the Senate as an Impeachment
Court.
He explained that the significant message communicated to the Filipino people
and the foreign business community by the Senate was that we are capable of
dispensing justice to the mighty as well as to the less powerful and that we are
willing to wield that gavel evenly, fairly and quickly.
And I think that is everything that people in this country look forward to,
that justice be dispensed with fairly, even-handedly and quickly and that is the
message that I think we delivered to the people, the Senator said.
As you can see, I think, even the stature of the Senate and the leadership
are at a record high.
He added it is always for the good of all to strengthen our institutions
because there has been continuous erosions of the credibility of institutions of
government, pillars of justice and such in our society that overall we are
almost looked at as an outcast and a laggard.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on the other hand affirmed that
business confidence greatly improved in the immediate aftermath of the Senate
verdict on Corona.
He recalled that similarly, the economy of Latin America likewise improved
when they discovered impeachment as a way to stability when removing wayward
officials found unfit to hold public office, instead of staging coup d etats.
Cayetano said Filipinos and foreign businessmen have seen that we have a
system that works.
The Senator added that the government has delivered a clear message on
upholding transparency in government and fighting corruption.
We were also able to show political maturity in that the trial, that involved
looking into undeclared deposits, did not end in a bank run.
Cayetano also agreed with Angara that a hoped for credit rating upgrade is
positive factor for business but cautioned that realistically, many things still
need to be done to go up one notch.
FROM PHILSTAR
Senators: It's time to show compassion for Corona
(The Philippine Star) Updated June 01, 2012 12:00 AMComments (18)
MANILA, Philippines - Although they voted to convict Renato Corona,
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Edgardo Angara yesterday called on
the government to ease up on the possible filing of charges against the ousted
chief justice.
"I think the man is punished enough by being ousted from a very high position
and being perpetually disqualified from holding any public office. I think we
should end there," Angara said.
"If there is some person who thinks he was aggrieved, like some of his family
members, that is a separate matter. Using state power to prosecute and pursue
him, I think that is
over-stretching already," Angara said, referring to the family feud between
Corona's wife Cristina and her cousins over Basa Guidote Enterprises Inc.
Angara stressed he doesn't want to see a vindictive government going after
Corona.
Enrile said he is leaving it up to the government to pursue charges against
Corona but thinks the Aquino administration should "exercise compassion" to
start the healing process following the divisiveness caused by the impeachment
trial.
"We should exercise compassion," he said.
During the impeachment, Enrile noted the prosecution failed to prove and
present evidence pertaining to alleged illegal wealth. "Anyway, the prosecution
failed to prove any ill-gotten wealth against Corona that could prove
corruption. There was none," he said.
Enrile said the impeachment court merely decided on the issue that Corona
failed to declare in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs)
his $2.4 million and some P80 million in bank accounts.
On the issue of possible tax charges, Angara and Enrile conceded Corona might
have to face such charges since it is the obligation of a citizen to pay taxes.
"But pursuing criminal cases to send him to jail as such, I think, the
Filipino people would draw a line already," Angara said.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Cayetano said Corona should be charged if
warranted.
"There is no pity, there is no compassion to speak off. All of these have no
place in the justice system... It shouldn't be a choice of men. We are not a
country of men, but a country of laws," he said.
While it is not a simple task, Cayetano said Corona should be allowed to get
well.
But charges should be pursued if there is evidence, the senator added.
The House of Representatives, as the prosecutors in the impeachment trial on
Corona, no longer has any role in the possible prosecution of the former chief
justice.
Prosecution panel spokesman Marikina City Rep. Romero Quimbo said the
decision to prosecute Corona would be up to the executive branch.
"Our duty in the House of Representatives, that is, to remove the chief
justice, is done. Any other matter with regard to filing new cases is completely
out of our hands," Quimbo said.
"But let me stress that the same due process must be accorded to him as it
was (during the impeachment trial) where he (Corona) was afforded right to
counsel and to be heard in court," he said. – Christina
Mendez, Paolo Romero
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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