Miriam slams LRA chief for 'favoring' prosecution

MANILA, Philippines – Senator-Judge Miriam Defensor Santiago on Wednesday warned Land Registration Authority administrator Eulalio Diaz III of criminal liability for incriminating persons who are not involved in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona

At the impeachment hearing today, Santiago said Diaz could also be cited for gross negligence for  failing to exercise prudence by releasing a list of 45 land and property titles allegedly owned by Corona  and his wife Cristina to the prosecution panel and the media.

"Have you not asked your people to filter the infomation? Hindi mo ba iniisip na ganun ang maging consequence nyan?" Santiago  asked Diaz.

Diaz denied liability in releasing the list to the prosecution team, whom he said asked for the materials for research purposes.

"I have no fault...I'm not also blaming them," he said, referring to the prosecution panel.

Santiago insisted that Diaz is guilty of gross negligence for his acts.

"You issued a document that is highly incriminatory to the people not related to this case...Your liability as an LRA administrator is in the Penal Code..I believe...that you're in the brink of a cliff. I'll just push you with a finger and you'll fall down," she said.

Santiago also hinted that Diaz has readily accommodated the request of the prosecution panel because he is President Aquino's   ally and  a batchmate in the Ateneo grade school.

She said Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., chief prosecutor in the impeachment case, called up Diaz before January 10, 2012 to get a list of properties owned by the Coronas.

Meantime, the chief prosecutor in the impeachment trial is not satisfied with the list of properties owned by Corona as provided by the LRA.

This after Diaz disclosed that search the government agency made was only confined to real estate properties of the chief justice and his family in Metro Manila.

Tupas said he thought that his request for the list of properties under the name of Coronas and his family members would be born out of a nationwide search.

"My idea is that it (request) is for the entire country...but now that we know that it is not a nationwide search, we're not satisfied," Tupas told Presiding Senator-Judge Juan Ponce Enrile during a clarificatory questioning.

Tupas also told the Senate impeachment court that he did not specify an area where the search on titles would be done that time.

When Enrile asked why he did not make a search of other properties in Batangas, home province of the Chief justice,  Diaz said it would be for convenience.

"It is for convenience sa search through computer," Diaz said, adding that he should have also expanded the search of the properties in other parts of the country.

Out of the 45 properties circulated in the media, the prosecution panel is pinning 21 property titles to the name of the chief magistrate.