Defense sees no need for Corona's wife to testify in impeach trial

MANILA, Philippines - A day after the Senate impeachment court went on Lenten break, the lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona and his wife Cristina said yesterday that the couple may not be testifying anymore at the trial.

In a press briefing, defense spokespersons and lawyers Tranquil Salvador III and Rico Paolo Quicho expressed confidence that they have enough witnesses and documentary evidence to prove that Corona did not betray public trust or violate the Constitution under Article 2 of the verified complaint.

While the Chief Justice has been ready to testify, his lawyers said there is no need for him or even his wife to take the witness stand.

The trial resumes on May 7.

Corona’s lawyers said it is not an issue of the possible backlash on their case, but more of preserving their clients’ integrity.

“There is no factual certainty that it will happen but those are the risks that we will take at the end of the day,” Salvador explained.

Quicho said the witnesses and bulk of documentary evidence can still withstand the test of integrity when it comes to the impeachment court.

“The statement of the Chief Justice is that he is willing to face the Senate impeachment court and that he is willing to testify. But he would be seeking advice from his lawyers. That is the position of the Chief Justice and also our position in the defense,” Quicho said.

Amid the clamor from the public as well as senator-judges and the prosecutors for Corona to testify in his own trial, Salvador said the manner of the defense’s presentation of evidence is “not dictated by public opinion.”

“On the peso accounts, we have nothing to debate… The bank officials already testified on them, pointing to each account one by one,” Salvador said.

As far as allegations in Article 2 are concerned, Quicho said the issue on failure to disclose and declare properties in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) is being addressed by the defense team.

“If you will take that into consideration, we feel that there is really no need for the Chief Justice or for Mrs. Corona to testify,” he added.

Both lawyers explained that their clients were not wary that they will be grilled over the issue of Basa-Guidote Enterpises Inc. (BGEI) rather than the issue of SALN.

While conceding that the defense cannot prevent senator-judges from grilling the Corona couple once they testify, the defense lawyers said the couple are ready to answer the issue on BGEI, which has been the subject of legal debates for the past two decades.

Quicho expressed belief that Mrs. Corona need not appear personally during the trial on questions of ownership of BGEI as well as the P34.7-million expropriation because “it has been established that Mrs. Corona has the authority to transact for and on behalf of BGEI.”

According to Quicho, this would also show the source of the P11-million cash advance made by the Chief Justice from the BGEI, which was reflected in his 2004 SALN.

The P11 million in liabilities were reflected in the subsequent SALNs of the Chief Justice, showing a decrease in the loan until zero liability was seen in the 2010 SALN.

Quicho justified the need for the defense to address the ownership of BGEI to debunk the prosecution’s move in the early part of the trial to discredit BGEI when they presented officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to prove that the firm had been dissolved.

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However, two Catholic-based groups called on Corona yesterday to testify in his impeachment trial and disclose his dollar accounts.

The Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) and Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines (CEAP) also urged Corona to take a leave of absence until the end of the trial.

SLB is a network of priests, seminarians and lay individuals based in the Ateneo de Manila University, the Jesuit-run school where Corona completed his education from grade school to law school.

CEAP, on the other hand, is the biggest organization of Catholic schools in the country.

In a letter they delivered to Corona’s office in the Supreme Court, the groups asked the Chief Justice to make good his word.

“We ask that you make good on your word and set your pronouncements into action, so that you can finally make your manifestations under oath. We believe it is only by truth-telling that you can prove that your actions are based on public responsibility. The impeachment court will be a good, if not the best, venue for truth-telling,” the letter reads.

SLB and CEAP were banking on earlier media pronouncements made by Corona that he would explain his dollar accounts in “due time” or when the defense takes its turn in the trial.

“We respectfully call on you to voluntarily open and make public the contents of your foreign currency deposit accounts. You have made numerous pronouncements that you will open them in ‘due time.’ At this time when the people’s search for truth has zeroed in on your SALNs and bank records, there is no more appropriate time to open your dollar accounts than now,” the group appealed. – With Edu Punay