ShareThisEx-SC chief vows to fight on as Pnoy hit over use of DAP in impeachment
MANILA (PhilAmPress) — Amid revelations that President Benigno S. Aquino III and his men may have unduly tried to influence the impeachment court that voted 20-3 to convict him, former Chief Justice Renato Corona found himself last Wednesday with indictment for several cases, including allegedly amassing ill-gotten wealth totalling P130 million.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales announced her office found probable cause to charge the ousted Chief Justice and his wife, Cristina, with violation of Republic Act No. 1379, or An Act Declaring Forfeiture In Favor of the State Any Property Found To Have Been Unlawfully Acquired by Any Public Officer.
Ombudsman Morales directed the filing of a petition for forfeiture with the Sandigabayan, along with the sets of criminal Informations for Perjury and violation of RA 6713.
The Ombudsman said the former SC justice will also face eight counts of perjury and eight counts of violation of Section 11 of RA No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees for not filing true and detailed Statements of Assets and Liabilities (SALN).
Corona immediately denounced the filing of charges against him and his wife and vowed to fight on.
“I will fight this persecution to the very end, knowing that truth is on my side,” Corona vowed.
Corona has denied his family wealth was ill-gotten even during his impeachment trial by the Senate Impeachment Tribunal. “Whatever we have is the product of 45 years of hard, honest work. I have never been involved in any anomalous or illegal transaction in my life,” he stressed.
Corona, however, sounded resigned to the charges, which he claimed are orchestrated by Malacanang.
“This development, unfortunate as it is, is something we have been expecting all along,” he said. “What fairness could we have expected from an Ombudsman who viciously prevaricated and testified against me as a malicious witness during my sham and multi-billion peso bribe-laden impeachment trial in 2012?”
Ombudsman Carpio-Morales was one of the witnesses in the impeachment trial of Corona, which ended with his being found guilty for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of puboic trust and ousted from his post.
“This merciless persecution is but a replay of that PDAF and DAP-facilitated impeachment proceeding against me and my family,” Corona said, an apparent reference to earlier allegations of Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada that Malacanang “bribed” lawmakers with several millions of pesos of allocations from the newly invented Disbursement Acceleration Program to convict him.
Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. later detailed how he was brought by then Transportation Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II to President Aquino at the Bahay Pangarap and was talked to convict Corona during the impeachment trial.
“Malacañang and its attack dogs were not content with removing me from office. They have been filing all sorts of baseless and contrived cases against me and members of my family,” he said.
In a 22-page resolution which Ombudsman Carpio- Morales approved on Jan. 28, 2014, the special panel of investigators found that from 2001 to 2011, the spouses Corona earned a total income of P30,369,120.13, of which P27,145,472.68 was earned by CJ Corona as an official at the Office of the President, a Justice of the Supreme Court (SC), member of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), and member of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).
Meanwhile, Cristina earned P3,223,647.45 for the period 2007-2010, based on the Alpha List submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) by the John Hay Development Corporation (JHDC) where she was employed.
The resolution said that from 2002 to 2010, Corona’s actual cash deposits ballooned from P1,337,072.28 to P137,937,207.88, and by 2010 the cumulative discrepancy between his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) declaration and his actual cash deposits amounted to P134,437,207.88.
The resolution also cited the Land Registration Authority (LRA) records on several properties owned by the Corona spouses in Quezon City, Makati City and Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, which were established to be significantly undervalued by P17,297,145.00.
It pointed out the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) certifications stating that the Corona spouses have no existing business registered in their name, even while CJ Corona’s SALN for 2003-2009 disclosed that his wife is connected with the Basa Guidote Enterprises, Inc.
The Ombudsman determined that the Coronas’ unexplained wealth is at least P130,336,212.88.
The amount of P130,336,212.88 is an conservative estimate as it includes their cost of living allowance commensurate to their social stature and expenses entailed by their travels abroad, she said.
On the perjury charges, the resolution found that the sworn declarations in Corona’s SALNs were false, as he failed to include the numerous peso and dollar bank accounts (in his 2003-2010 SALNs), a condominium unit at the The Columns, Makati City (in his 2004-2009 SALN), and a condominium unit at Spanish Bay Tower in Taguig City (in his 2005-2009 SALN).
CJ Corona was found to have only declared P6,800,000.00 as the acquisition cost of a condominium unit in Bellagio I in Taguig City in his SALN for 2010, when the true acquisition cost is P14,510,000.00.
In his SALNs from 2003 to 2009, CJ Corona also undervalued the property located at La Vista in Quezon City by P8,000,000.00.
CJ Corona was also charged with violation of RA 6713, for not filing true and detailed SALNs for 2003-2010, when the value of his declared cash assets and the actual bank deposits had substantial discrepancies and his real assets in Makati, Taguig and Quezon City were not declared.
Ombudsman Morales ordered the filing of a petition for forfeiture with the Sandigabayan, along with the sets of criminal charges for perjury and violation of RA 6713.