MANILA, Philippines - The prosecution panel will continue to prove that Chief Justice Renato Corona enriched himself in office, despite the defense camp’s objection that Article 2 of the eight Articles of Impeachment does not encompass alleged illegally acquired wealth.
Lead House prosecutor Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. said the prosecution panel will present Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares to bolster their allegations that the Chief Justice’s income is not enough for him to be able to acquire millions worth of properties.
Henares went to the Senate last Wednesday but was directed to return next week because the prosecution had lined up registrars of deeds for the presentation of evidence first.
The impeachment court resumes hearing on Tuesday.
At least three land registrars from Taguig, Marikina and Quezon cities brought land and condominium titles that showed that Corona and his wife Cristina, had more properties than listed in their joint statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
Tupas said the prosecution is focusing on how Corona betrayed public trust in relation to his non-disclosure of SALN.
“Plunder is technical, it is a series of acts. We are proving betrayal of public trust, that is where we are focusing,” he said in a press conference early Thursday evening.
Prosecution panel spokesman Rep. Miro Quimbo of Marikina cited at least two condominium units which, based on Land Registration Authority (LRA) records, Corona and his wife had acquired but were not declared in the SALN in the years that they were purchased.
“Based on property records, on Oct. 14, 2005, the Corona couple bought a condo unit at Bonifacio Ridge in Global City, Taguig for P2.3 million. But this asset was not declared in the 2005 SALN of the Chief Justice. He (would) declare it five years later, in his 2010 SALN,” he said.
“On Dec. 16, 2009, again based on official property records, the Coronas bought a 303-square-meter penthouse at the Bellagio Tower, also in Global City, for P14.5 million. This was not declared in the 2009 SALN filed in early 2010, though it was included in the 2010 SALN filed in early 2011,” he said.
Quimbo said the failure of the Chief Justice to declare his assets on time “puts into question his degree of honesty and integrity.”
“The declaration of a public official’s wealth is made under oath. You have to make a truthful accounting of your assets and liabilities,” he added.
He pointed out that aside from failing to declare his assets on time, the Chief Justice “undervalued” his Global City properties in 2010, when he included them in his SALN.
He noted that when Corona filed his 2010 SALN early last year, the House had already impeached then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez “and there were speculations that we would next move against certain justices of the Supreme Court.”
“Did he declare his condo units in his 2010 wealth statement because he feared he might be impeached next and these would be scrutinized?” he asked.
Corona’s lawyers, led by retired justice Serafin Cuevas, have not explained why their client allegedly failed to declare the Taguig condo units in his SALN for 2005 and 2010.
Quimbo also claimed the prosecution considers the property acquisition and sale of the Corona couple and their children as “intertwined.”
He said the Chief Justice and his wife sold their 1,200-square-meter lot in the affluent La Vista subdivision in Quezon City to their daughter Carla for P18 million in the latter part of 2010.
The Coronas purchased the lot for P11 million in 2003.
Quimbo said Carla and her husband Constantino Castillo III bought properties worth more than P20 million “in a span of just four years up to 2010.”
He said another daughter, Charina, bought a lot at McKinley Hill, also in Taguig.
“Though it was Charina Corona who was the buyer, it was the Chief Justice who did the transaction as her attorney-in-fact as evidenced by the deed of sale. The seller is Megaworld Corp., the same company from which the Chief Justice and his wife bought the Bellagio penthouse,” he added.
Corona has said he had nothing to do with the properties acquired by his children.
He said his son-in-law Castillo is a successful doctor, while his daughter Charina is a physical therapist with lucrative practice in the United States.
Despite the presentation of voluminous SALN documents, condominium titles, and deeds of sale, the defense camp is moving to discredit all evidence that might pin down Corona over his alleged illegally acquired wealth.
Defense lead counsel Cuevas has been invoking during the trial his objection to several documents, which seem to be connected to the issue of illegal wealth.
Several senator-judges, among them Manuel Villar Jr., Panfilo Lacson, and Antonio Trillanes IV, noted that the trial is being slowed down by some technicalities.
“The lawyers of both sides have the tendency to try to impress each other with their legal skills but as a judge in this trial, it is not important to me. They should convince me and the public at large why Chief Justice Corona should be convicted or acquitted,” Trillanes said.
The defense argued that the issue of illegal wealth is not covered by Article 2, on the non-disclosure of SALN.
“The meat of the evidence is with the prosecution,” said defense lawyer Dennis Manalo.
Search for truth not a fishing expedition
Quimbo criticized the defense, following counsel Jose Roy III’s criticism that the prosecution is “poisoning” the minds of the public by feeding them wrong information about Corona.
Roy was also quoted as saying that the prosecution panel is on a fishing expedition.
“Why is attorney Roy so afraid of the truth? Why is he blocking us from uncovering the truth? The (condo) titles will show us the way to truth,” Quimbo said.
Tupas, on the other hand, reiterated his appeal for Cuevas to stop delaying the trial by citing technicalities.
“There is only one clear strategy for the defense. It is obvious that the strategy of the defense is to delay the impeachment trial,” he said.
Colmenares: Defense eyes TRO
Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said Corona is preparing the basis for seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court to gag some senator-judges.
Colmenares, who is part of the House impeachment prosecution panel, said Corona’s lawyers have been criticizing Senators Franklin Drilon and Alan Peter Cayetano for their alleged bias for the prosecution.
“These criticisms are a malicious attempt to set up their appeal for a TRO with the Supreme Court,” he said.
He said the Chief Justice and his lawyers want senator-judges to be deprived of the right under the Senate impeachment rules to ask witnesses and even defense lawyers and prosecutors questions aimed at clarifying issues.
It was Drilon’s questioning that forced Supreme Court clerk of court Enriqueta Vidal to admit that she brought with her Corona’s SALN for 2003-2010.
Drilon took the floor after private prosecutor Mario Bautista failed to elicit such admission from Vidal, who was restricted by Supreme Court internal rules from disclosing the SALN of any justice without the permission of the tribunal.
Cayetano, on the other hand, disputed the ruling of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile denying the prosecution’s request for subpoenas for Corona, his wife, his children and son-in-law.
Cayetano conceded that while the Chief Justice could not be compelled to appear before the impeachment court, his wife, children and son-in-law could be subpoenaed and could invoke their rights when they testify.
Speaking for the prosecution, Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said it is the right of every senator-judge to ask questions to bring out the truth so they could make an informed decision when they vote on the impeachment charges against Corona.
Angara said the intervention of senator-judges in an impeachment trial is not without precedent.
He recalled that in the course of then President Estrada’s Senate trial in 2001, it was during Sen. Loren Legarda’s questioning that star witness Clarissa Ocampo revealed efforts of the defense team to cover up the Velarde bank account. – With Jess Diaz