'LITTLE LADY' URGED TO COME OUT
[PHOTO - Chief Justice
Renato Corona acknowledges the cheers of supporters from the terrace of the
Supreme Court in Manila yesterday. JONJON VICENCIO]
MANILA,
FEBRUARY 11, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By
Christina Mendez - Chief Justice Renato Corona dug in yesterday for a
protracted battle as details of his bank accounts began to trickle out in the
Senate impeachment court.
"They can take my body, but not my soul," Corona stressed when he gave the
go-signal to his lawyers to file with the Supreme Court (SC) last Wednesday a
motion seeking to stop his impeachment trial.
Defense counsel Ramon Esguerra (photo) told The STAR Corona is
determined to fight until his last breath.
"Kahit patayin ninyo ako, lalabanan ko kayo, hanggang sa huling hininga (Even
if you kill me, I will fight you, until my last breath)," Esguerra quoted Corona
as saying.
Defense panel spokesman Tranquil Salvador III said the Chief Justice is
taking the developments "well, under the circumstances."
Asked about Corona's morale after the opening of his peso bank accounts,
another defense lawyer, Jose Bodegon, said Corona is doing okay.
"It (bank accounts) can be explained," Bodegon said.
As the impeachment trial heads into its fourth week, Corona vowed that the
fight would continue amid the various witnesses and evidence presented against
him by the prosecution on issues about his statements of assets, liabilities,
and net worth (SALNs).
The impeachment trial went into a critical stage this week when the Senate
issued a subpoena to bank officials to bring to court Corona's alleged bank
accounts.
The defense panel has been objecting to the presentation of Corona's bank
statements, saying it was beyond the scope of Article 2 of the impeachment
complaint that accused Corona of failing to disclose his SALN.
Esguerra said this last development prompted the defense lawyers to seek
redress from the SC where they filed a motion for TRO.
He said that Corona had vowed not to resign.
Esguerra said Corona would fight this case since his family and friends
support him.
He said the defense team remains steadfast that they will continue protecting
the rights of their client within the impeachment court and under the courts of
law.
Esguerra said the defense panel is ready to reconcile the bank accounts
revealed in the last two hearings.
He hinted that the alleged peso accounts containing millions of pesos could
be reconciled with the sales of two of his properties in 2009.
Esguerra said that the public should not forget Mrs. Corona also got a
P34-million check from expropriations of their family corporation, Basa Guidote
Enterprises Inc. as early as 2001.
He added that the amount in Basa Guidote "could have grown by reason of the
interest to a higher sum."
Esguerra explained they will have time to contradict all the prosecution's
claims when their turn to present witnesses and evidence comes.
A scrutiny of Corona's SALN as of Dec. 31, 2010 reflected that Corona sold
two parcels of land in Quezon City to pay the loans for condominium units number
4 and 5, which were listed in his assets.
But also in 2010 SALN, Corona listed his "cash and investments" at merely
P3.5 million, which were beyond what was revealed in the ending balances of some
of his peso accounts in PSBank for that year.
Corona's total net worth for 2010 is pegged at P22,938,980, which was much
higher compared to 2009 where his net worth was reported at P14,559,080.
Esguerra, however, admitted that the emerging public opinion is going against
Corona. But the defense is ready to present evidence that will disprove the
prosecution's claims.
Corona supporters stage rally
Thousands of supporters of Corona that included court employees trooped to
the SC yesterday.
Carrying placards calling for "Rule of Law!" and "Stop the Impeachment!" the
demonstrators expressed opposition to Malacañang's tacit support of Corona's
impeachment.
They called on President Aquino to instead address the worsening economy of
the country and other more important social concerns.
"The people's money they spend in the impeachment trial should have been
given to the poor instead. This impeachment is just a waste because as what we
can see, it appears that the allegations against Corona have no basis," said
Romy Santillan, one of the protesters.
Some protesters were holding a black and white photograph of Aquino wearing a
Nazi uniform.
Most participants, reportedly members of a religious group, assembled in
front of the SC building at 11 a.m.
Inspector Tomasito Corpuz of the Manila Police District Station 5 estimated
that at least 8,000 joined the rally for Corona.
It was, however, unclear as to what group the protesters belong since none of
them admitted being part of any organization.
"We have an intelligence report that this crowd came from (religious group),"
Corpuz revealed.
Minutes before the special full-court session of the justices on his petition
seeking to stop his trial, Corona stepped onto the balcony of the SC building
with his wife Cristina and waved to the crowd. He then threw a flying kiss and
shed tears.
At one point, Corona raised his hands to the sky before going back inside.
Corona's supporters were later allowed to enter the SC grounds to watch the
live streaming of the impeachment trial.
Meanwhile, Leyte Rep. Sergio Apostol, chairman of the House committee on
banks and financial intermediaries, warned the people on the serious
repercussions on the country's banking system if the proceedings of the
impeachment trial of Corona on his reported bank accounts would go out of
control.
Apostol was commenting on the move of some senators, including Sen. Sergio
Osmeña, to summon other bank officials, particularly those from MetroBank.
Pascual Garcia III, president of Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), was
summoned to the Senate impeachment court regarding Corona's reported peso and
dollar accounts. PSBank is a subsidiary of MetroBank.
Apostol expressed alarm that the senator-judges were already summoning more
individuals in what he said was a simple case of determining whether such
accounts exist.
"Where is the trial going now? It seems this particular issue of digging up
bank accounts is already getting out of hand. We're not just talking of possible
closure of a bank where people lose jobs or a bank run where depositors are
harmed, but confidence in the integrity of the country's banking and financial
system," Apostol said.
He noted that the development comes as investors have become more cautious in
where to put their money and the Philippines is not yet considered as
financially stable. With Edu Punay, Paolo Romero
'Little lady' urged to come out By Marvin Sy (The
Philippine Star) Updated February 10, 2012 12:00 AMComments (0)
MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Jinggoy Estrada yesterday urged the
"mysterious little lady" who provided confidential information on Chief Justice
Renato Corona's dollar accounts in Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) to come out
and face the impeachment court.
In a phone interview after the trial, Estrada said it would be best for the
woman to come out, especially now that the investigation of her allegedly
handing over the documents to a member of the prosecution panel is underway.
During the trial, Estrada stressed that the release of the bank documents
even before the subpoena was issued by the Senate to PSBank was a violation of
Republic Act 1405 or the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law.
Misamis Oriental Rep. Rey Umali told the court last Monday that "a small
lady," whom he did not recognize, handed him the documents inside the Senate.
House: CJ has nowhere to go By Paolo Romero and
Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated February 10, 2012 12:00 AMComments (0)
MANILA, Philippines - There's nowhere for Chief Justice Renato Corona
to go but to face the impeachment process even if it gets stopped by the Supreme
Court (SC) through a temporary restraining order and despite the high court's
stopping the Senate impeachment court from examining his dollar accounts,
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (photo) said yesterday.
"I was personally amazed at that tactic (petition for TRO) because as one
senator wants to put it, it's only one of two things: maybe they don't want to
show contents of that document and they try to involve the Supreme Court in the
controversy by stopping it. And I don't see how you can win there," Belmonte
said.
"If the Supreme Court sustains you, what will public opinion say? That you
wanted to hide something. On the other hand, if you would rely on the good
judgment of the senators – let's see what they will say," Belmonte told
reporters before the start of the trial. "Personally, I cannot read the wisdom
of that particular move."
The SC, voting 8-5, issued a TRO yesterday on the subpoena on Corona's dollar
accounts with Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank).
House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II described
the Chief Justice's move to seek a TRO from the SC as an "act of desperation."
He said if the arguments raised by Corona in his petition were serious as he
claimed, he should have raised them even before the start of trial.
"Now that he (Corona) brought the matter to the Supreme Court, there is a
real threat of a constitutional crisis, and there would be a crisis in the
banking industry, but that's his fault," Gonzales said.
He said if Corona is not hiding huge dollar bank accounts, he should allow
PSBank to bare them to the public.
"If you are stopping the court from disclosing details of bank records,
people would think you're hiding something. If the SC issues a TRO, it would
appear that his allies were covering up for him," Gonzales said.
The Movement 188 group of congressmen who signed the impeachment complaint
against Corona, meanwhile, urged him to voluntarily give his consent to the
opening of his five dollar accounts in PSBank.
Speaking for the group, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said, "If the Chief
Justice has nothing to hide, we urge him to agree to the opening of his dollar
accounts."
"This will avoid a legal confrontation between the Senate impeachment court,
which has subpoenaed the records of those accounts, and CJ Corona's bank," he
said.
Evardone said Corona's consent would also spare PSBank president Pascual
Garcia III from being cited for contempt by the impeachment court for refusing
to produce the subpoenaed records, he said.
He added that refusal on Corona's part to give such consent would only make
people more suspicious.
He reminded the Chief Justice that there have been news reports that one of
his accounts held as much as $700,000 at one time.
Garcia brought with him records of Corona's peso accounts when he testified
last Wednesday.
One account had a balance of more than P5 million as of Dec. 31, 2007.
Another account was opened in 2009 and had a balance of P8.5 million as of Dec.
31 of that year and P12.5 million as of Dec. 31, 2010.
A third account, opened in 2010, had a balance of P7.148 million as of Dec.
31 that year.
The Senate subpoenaed the year-end balances as these were related to the
impeachment charge that Corona failed to declare all his assets, including cash,
in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
In his SALN, he declared "cash and investments" amounting to P2.5 million in
2007, 2008 and 2009, and P3.5 million in 2010.
Pascual told the impeachment court that he did not bring the balances of
Corona's five dollar accounts because the Foreign Currency Deposits Act, unlike
the Bank Secrecy Law covering peso deposits, prohibits the disclosure of
information about foreign currency accounts even in an impeachment trial.
He said the only exception is when the depositor agrees to the opening of his
accounts.
In its request for subpoena on Corona's bank records, prosecutors attached
photocopies of two PSBank customer identification and specimen signature cards,
and an Application and Agreement for Deposit Account (AADA), all signed by the
Chief Justice.
One signature card dated Oct. 31, 2008 covers at least two dollar time
deposits and five peso accounts. It indicates that Corona is both the account
holder and authorized signatory.
Another specimen signature card names Corona's son-in-law Constantino
Castillo III and his wife Ma. Carla Beatrice Eugenia Corona as account holders
but with the Chief Justice as the authorized signatory. It covers a single
dollar account. The signature card is dated April 16, 2007.
The AADA covers five dollar accounts with the Chief Justice as the account
holder. The document indicates that it was "updated as of July 20, 2007."
The prosecution counted a total of 14 peso and dollar accounts based on the
photocopies of bank documents volunteered to it by an "anonymous source."
However, the impeachment court subpoenaed the records of only five peso
accounts and five dollar accounts. Corona's lawyers said the bank documents in
the possession of the prosecution were illegally obtained.
'Tip of the iceberg'
Prosecution spokesman Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo said Corona's P20-million
cash in PSBank "is just the tip of the iceberg."
"We have only hit the tip of the iceberg. What we feel is that the balances
revealed in Wednesday's trial were random samples of the chief magistrate's
hidden stash," Quimbo told reporters.
He said the discovery of the nearly P20 million in cash in two PSBank peso
accounts "only underscores the need for the Senate impeachment court to open his
five dollar deposits with the same bank."
Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada, another prosecution spokesman, said the collective
contents of the two bank accounts were not reported in Corona's SALN for 2010.
"It reinforces our appeal that the foreign currency deposits of the impeached
Chief Justice be disclosed in the interest of truth and transparency," he said.
Aurora Rep. Juan Angara said Corona must have been awash in cash in 2009-2010
"because he still managed to keep nearly P20 million in the bank as of the end
of 2010 despite having bought a 303-square-meter penthouse at the Bellagio Tower
in The Fort, Taguig City, in December 2009 for P14.5 million."
At Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said they don't not see
any constitutional crisis despite Corona's filing a petition with the SC seeking
to stop his impeachment trial.
"In cases of impeachment trials, SC has no jurisdiction," Lacierda said,
adding Corona was only trying to find a "friendly venue."
"The Senate sitting as an impeachment court and the senators sitting as
judges are very clear with their mandate," he said. "They are there to hold
impeachable officials accountable.
"I think the Constitution is very clear here. The Senate has sole and
exclusive jurisdiction to try the impeachment cases. What we say as a matter of
jargon is that the House impeaches, the Senate tries," he said.
He explained at no point did the Constitution envision encroachment by the SC
over the Senate sitting as an impeachment court since the upper chamber "is
meant to hold accountable impeachable officials who include the members of the
Supreme Court."
"You cannot have someone being checked to be checking the impeachment court.
That's not the idea of the constitutional commissioners when they framed the
Constitution," Lacierda said.
"(The) question has always been: who is going to check the Supreme Court?
None. Even if they make an error in their decision, you, as lawyers, will
respect the decision of the Supreme Court," Lacierda said.
"We have seen already here that the prosecution has been heavily (criticized)
and yet the prosecution doesn't say anything, doesn't go to the Supreme Court to
defend itself or to complain about the conduct of the trial," Lacierda said.
Lacierda said the fact that Corona's lawyers were seeking the inhibition of
Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and Maria Lourdes Sereno, who were known to be
unsympathetic to the Chief Justice, only proved that he was relying on his
friendly colleagues to save him from getting convicted.
An official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP),
for his part, said the Corona camp's bid to stop his trial "may be an indicator
of his guilt."
"This is not a legal opinion but from our point of view, it is clear that if
he has nothing to hide, why is he (Corona) afraid to reveal his SALN? I think
that may be an indicator of guilt. It is a generally accepted principle that
that is an indicator of guilt if you are hiding something," said Fr. Edu
Gariguez, executive secretary of the CBCP-National Secretariat for Social
Action, Justice and Peace.
"Isn't it if you are a judge you should favor the truth to come out? But how
can he do that if he himself is hiding… the truth? He is not worthy to become a
chief justice if he would use technicalities and legalities to hide the truth,"
he said.
The CBCP official reminded Corona of his promise to subject himself to the
impeachment process to clear his name. "So why is he backing out now?"
Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez also scoffed at the defense panel's filing
a motion to stop the impeachment trial. "Impeachment has its own laws. But that
move (filing of motion) goes against the spirit of impeachment," Iniguez said.
With Aurea Calica, Evelyn Macairan
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
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