CJ: Ill-gotten wealth? I won't commit such stupidity

MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona yesterday belied that he has amassed ill-gotten wealth as claimed by House prosecutors in his impeachment trial at the Senate.

“In the eyes of the people, if I got all my assets through illegal means, will I be careless, stupid enough to put it in my name, my wife, my children’s name if such were acquired through illegal means?” Corona said in a text message to reporters.

“I am an SC justice, and a Supreme Court Chief Justice, I think I will not commit such a mistake, stupidity if indeed those were illegally acquired. Ano ba naman!” he lamented.

He denied anew the insinuation of his accusers that he owns 45 properties based on the list released by the Land Registration Authority, which is under the executive department.

He said the list was falsified, reiterating that he only owns five properties and that his accusers fabricated documents and bloated the list to exaggerate the charges.

“Many of those in the list are not ours. They are owned by people I don’t even know; some by parents of our children-in-law,” he claimed.

Corona cited for instance the 1,750 square-meter lot in Marikina that his wife, Cristina, inherited from her parents.

He said the lot was subdivided into seven lots upon the advice of their broker in order to sell them at a higher price. Corona noted that the properties were sold in 1988 to a certain Demetrio Vicente.

“This is only one property which they listed as seven different lots and the LRA knows that we have already sold it in 1988,” Corona said.

He said some of the properties being linked to him were actually owned by certain individuals such as Felicia Castillo, Erlinda Castillo and Ismael Mathay Jr., whom he does not know personally.

On the other hand, the other properties mentioned by the House were owned or legally acquired by his daughter, a successful physical therapist in the United States; his son-in-law who is a successful doctor in Medical City; and his in-laws.

Prosecutors alleged in the hearing last Thursday that Corona did not declare some properties, while others were declared with understated values.

They questioned why the 303-square-meter penthouse at the Bellagio Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig that Corona and his wife Cristina acquired in 2009 for P14.5 million was not in the Chief Justice’s 2010 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

In his 2010 SALN, the Chief Justice declared his assets at P22.9 million with zero liabilities.

His assets included a condominium unit in Taguig City acquired in 2004 on installment basis with an assessed value of P1.4 million and a “current fair market value” of P2.4 million and a second Taguig condo unit acquired in 2010 on installment with an assessed value of P3.5 million and a market value of P6.8 million.

It is not clear if the latter condo is the Bellagio Tower penthouse, which, according to LRA records, was acquired in December 2009 under a deed of absolute sale executed by Corona and his wife and Giovanni Ng, finance director of property developer Megaworld Corp. that was the seller.

Lawyers of Corona, in response, accused the prosecutors of resorting to a “fishing expedition.”

They said the prosecution only presented documents on the alleged properties illegally acquired by Corona from 2003 to 2010 but has no witnesses to corroborate it.

IBP contests prosecutors’ claim

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) watchdogs in the impeachment trial contested yesterday the claim of House prosecutors that proving discrepancy in the actual assets of Corona and his SALN would suffice for a conviction.

IBP, which is conducting an “impeachment watch,” said the burden of the prosecution is beyond proving that the Chief Justice’s salary is not commensurate to the properties he owns.

“Under the law on ill-gotten or unexplained wealth, it is not only the salary but also ‘other lawful income’ that is considered in explaining whether wealth acquired by an official is not commensurate or is unexplained,” IBP spokesman Dennis Habawel said.

“So, the issue does not end upon showing CJ’s salary, since his other lawful income should also be inquired into,” he explained.

Habawel was reacting to the claim of House prosecutors that any discrepancy in Corona’s statements of SALNs from 2002 to 2010 is enough to convince the Senate impeachment court to convict the Chief Justice.

The prosecutors also said that through Corona’s SALN, they would be able to prove that the Chief Justice had amassed ill-gotten wealth.

But even veteran lawyer Romulo Macalintal, who had served as independent analyst for the impeachment of deposed President Joseph Estrada in 2000, questioned this.

Macalintal said in a statement that he believes that the SALNs could even work in Corona’s favor.

“Prosecution’s evidence pertaining to sale of a property of CJ Corona to a certain spouses Rivera for P8 million in 2010 may even be an evidence in favor of Corona. This is so because the SALN of Corona in 2009 shows net worth of P14 million while in 2010 it rose to P22 million, which the prosecution wanted to prove alleged ill-gotten wealth.

“But if we add the sale of P8 million received by the Coronas from the proceeds of the said sale in 2010, it justifies the P8 million increase of Corona’s net worth from P14 million in 2009 to P22 million in 2010,” Macalintal explained.

Meanwhile, Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez of Marbel, South Cotabato told the Catholic Church-run Radio Veritas that Malacañang should not interfere with the impeachment trial of Corona.

He said Malacañang officials should dedicate more time to the needs of the victims of recent calamities such as tropical storm “Sendong.” – With Evelyn Macairan