ShareThisSenate yields to SC on $ accounts;
CJ Corona hits back at Pres. Aquino
By Alfred Gabot
MANILA — The Philippine Senate has averted a possible clash with the Supreme Court and a constitutional crisis as it decided by a vote of 13 to 10 to respect the High Court’s order stopping the disclosure of the dollar account of impeached Chief Justice Renato C. Corona
Earlier, the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called on everyone – particularly Malacañang, the Senate, and the prosecution panel – to respect the Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the impeachment court from compelling the Philippine Savings Bank to disclose the foreign currency accounts of Corona. Under a law, any foreign currency deposit can only be made public with the consent of its depositor.
This developed as Corona, through his lawyers, has filed petitions before the High Court itself seeking to stop his impeachment trial for many violations of his rights, among others. The High Court is yet to make its decision on his petitions.
Corona’s plea for TRO would be deliberated on by the SC once the House of Representatives and the Senate file their comments.
His petition, together with the supplemental petition, has been assigned through raffle to Justice Estela Perlas Bernabe, one of the three appointees to the SC of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, CBCP president said over Church-run Radyo Veritas: “It is more academic for the Senate to respect the TRO,” adding “There is a law of secrecy for dollar accounts,”
Enrile announced the Senate’s decision on the dollar accounts after a caucus. “The 13 members of the court opted to respect the TRO issued by the SC from this particular issue regarding the matter raised by the PSBank with respect to the alleged foreign currency deposits of the respondent [Corona] in that bank,” Enrile said.
Those who voted to respect the high court’s temporary restraining order were Enrile, Senators Joker Arroyo, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Manuel Villar, Ralph Recto, Francis Escudero, Aquilino Koko Pimentel, Loren Legarda, Gregorio Honasan, Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Ferdinand Marcos, Jose Jinggoy Estrada, and Vicente Sotto III.
Those who voted to defy the order were Senators Franklin Drilon, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Sergio Osmena III, Edgardo Angara, Panfilo Lacson, Francis Pangilinan, Antonio Trillanes IV, Manuel Lito Lapid, and Teofisto Guingona III.
On Tuesday, Enrile started the trial with a prounouncement that the impeachment court will not surrender its jurisdiction over the trial of Chief Justice Corona but stressed that it respects the Supreme Court’s power to review the conduct of the proceedings.
“It is my duty as presiding officer to respect authority to review acts of this impeachment court in interlocutory matters or matters on how this court conducts trial,” Enrile said.
“Whether or not in the end, this court abused its discretion or committed a grave abuse of its discretion amounting to lack of jurisdiction will be decided by the Supreme Court being the highest court of the land and the final arbiter and interpreter of the Constitution of this country. For no one else was given by the sovereign people in their Constitution the power to make a final determination or interpretation of what the Constitution ought to be or what a law ought to be except by the Supreme Court – not the Executive, not Congress, but only the Supreme Court,” he explained.
“It is my humble view that the SC cannot assume jurisdiction over the sole power of the Senate to try and decide this impeachment case,” he added.
Sen. Franklin M. Drilon, who was among 10 senators who voted against the TRO, stood up and registered his contrary opinion but he stressed that he did not wish to debate with Enrile.
Later that day, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago castigated the prosecution team for presenting unclear, unsure, and even faked evidence on the supposed dollar accounts of the Chief Justice before the impeachment court to secure a subpoena.
Apparently exasperated, Santiago said the prosecution may be cited for contempt for not knowing whether their evidence is fake or not. “A lawyer can be held liable if he or she does not know that the evidence submitted is fake,” she stressed.
“In ordinary court, that is a ground for contempt because you are not sure about your evidence whether it is true or fake,” said Santiago, as she repeatedly berated the entire prosecution camp in connection with the photocopy of the alleged bank documents of Corona, which was described as faked documents by PSBank Katipunan branch manager Annabelle Tiongson when she testified last Monday.
Last week, PSBank President Pascual Garcia III admitted before the impeachment court that Corona had almost P20 million in savings as of 2010.
The prosecution also accused Corona of maintaining dollar accounts in PSBank containing at least US$700,000 (roughly P30 million).
Garcia, however, declined to divulge information on Corona’s five dollar accounts with them, saying it might expose him to criminal liability. PSBank also filed a petition with the SC asking for the prohibition of the production of documents related with Corona’s foreign currency bank accounts.
Corona said it was President Aquino himself who committed impeachable offense when he urged Senator-Judges to disobey the Constitution.
In a one-page statement, Corona said the impeachment proceeding was also Aquino’s way to retaliate to the Supreme Court’s decision on the distribution of the Hacienda Luisita estate to farmer-beneficiaries.
“Itong impeachment trial na ito ay isang huwad, isang paghihiganti ng sukdulan at kahiya-hiyang tangka na pigilin ang pagbabahagi ng lupain sa Hacienda Luisita,” said Corona.
He also lashed the prosecution team for filing the impeachment complaint without any evidence at hand.
“You did not have any iota of evidence against me when you filed the impeachment complaint,” the Chief Magistrate said.
“To the Prosecution Team, I do know my law. I have not broken any law. I have no liability to the people and to the government,” he added.
He also challenged the prosecution of extracting evidence of their own, noting “Do not extract it from me through means that are foul, coercive and illegal.
He said it was only during the start of the impeachment trial that the prosecution started digging evidence by luring some partisan senator-judges to support their document hunting.
“You are digging up only now, not to mention the ruthless, unchristian and unrelenting public persecution through trial by publicity against my family and I, I hope the public will see through your schemes,” he added.
He also bewailed on the harassment of the Bureau of Internal Revenue to his family, saying, “I hope this persecution will never happen to any other official, officer, captain of industry or Juan dela Cruz.”
He also denied the prosecution’s allegation of ill-gotten wealth, saying “Throughout my public career, I have never been involved in any anomaly or scandal. Whatever assets my wife and I have acquired are products of 45 years of toil and honest work.”
The following are the remaining parts of the statement of the Chief Justice:
My wife and I have been privileged to come from families of comfortable means. We grew up never lacking in anything and even enjoyed some luxuries. We earned our academic degrees in some of the best exclusive schools in the country. I went on to earn several postgraduate degrees, including a Master’s degree in Harvard Law School. Our parents provided well for our future. Family resources continue to be available to us anytime.
I had a very successful career in the private sector where I was a top executive before I joined the government. That is public record.
For the past 40 years, my wife and I lived in a house, which was inherited property, and for that reason never had to pay rent or amortization on our residence. This translated to significant savings over forty years.
We have lived simple and frugal lives since we got married more than 40 years ago, to the point of thriftiness. This contributed to how we have been able to accumulate these assets. Other than our house, which we have lived in for almost 40 years, we have never had any other house.
I do not spend on vices like smoking, drinking or gambling, and have been completely devoted to my family. My family has always been my priority.
It pains me to see my family suffer the reckless abandon of a few who want to paint a different Renato C. Corona. I will not allow a career carefully nurtured and a family lovingly cared for in my lifetime to be tarnished by people in the business of lies and falsehoods.
But I am determined, with my Defense Team, to explain everything satisfactorily when our turn comes to present our evidence. If you look closely at the documents already marked, the explanations are all there.
In the meantime, I would like to request the public not to make any hasty conclusions. This “expose” that the prosecution is trying to herald as another “bombshell” will, in due time, be exposed as another dud like the 45 properties they claimed I owned.