True assets and liabilities

June 1, 2013
One year ago this week, the Philippine Senate, acting as Senate Impeachment Tribunal, in a historic decision, convicted then Chief Justice Renato Corona on finding him guilty of improperly or fully disclosing his true assets and liabilities and net worth.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile himself, a known legal expert and constitutionalist, voted guilty on Article 2, along with 19 other senators, namely, Manuel Villar Jr., Antonio Trillanes IV, Vicente Sotto II, Ramon Revilla Jr., Ralph Recto, Aquilino Pimentel, Francis Pangilinan, Sergio Osmena, Loren Legarda, Manuel Lapid, Panfilo Lacson, Gregorio Honasan, Francis Escudero, Franklin Drilon, Alan Peter Cayetano, Julia Pilar Cayetano, Edgardo Angara and Teofisto Guingona II. Only Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago, Joker Arroyo and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. voted to clear Corona of the complaint.
To this day, Corona maintains that his ouster was political and that all the money that he has were his hard-earned money as a topnotch lawyer, law professor and government official and nothing was stolen from government. “Wala akong kinasangkutang katiwalian o iskandalo kailan man sa buong buhay ko. Wala akong kinulimbat sa kaban ng bayan ( I have never been involved in any anomaly or scandal in all my life. I have not stolen from government),” Corona said, adding: “Wala akong ikinahihiya at pinagsisisihan na kahit anumang aspeto ng buhay ko. At higit sa lahat, wala akong utang na kahit na isang kusing na buwis sa gobyerno.” (I have nothing to be ashamed of or regret in life. Above all, I do not owe not even a dime to government).
Many lessons have been learned from the Corona impeachment trial. These lessons include that full disclosure should be made by public officials and employees on their SALNs (Statement of Assets,Liabilities and Networth) and that those who do not make the full disclosure should be held accountable.. This would be put to test in the new cases against Sen. Loren Legarda. She was accused before the Office of the Ombudsman of “hiding” her assets like a posh three-bedroom condo unit in Manhattan, New York City and an expensive mansion in Forbes Park, the exclusive village of the nation’s wealthy families.
True or not, the nation should closely watch what will happen to the two graft complaints against the lady senator.