MANILA, Philippines - The fate of Chief Justice Renato Corona rests on his testimony and explanation, following the testimony of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales about his alleged 82 dollar accounts and several bank transactions involving $10-million from 2003 to 2011, Senate president pro-tempore Jinggoy Estrada said on Wednesday.
“We will have to wait for the testimony of the CJ for him to refute or proclaim those accounts,” Estrada said in an interview before the start of Day 39 of the Corona impeachment trial.
“It will be up to the CJ to redeem himself. Hindi naman kaya ni (lead defense counsel) Justice (Serafin) Cuevas iyon, or another lawyer for that matter. It’s only the CJ who can save himself,” the senator said.
Estrada is baffled why the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, has been saddled with stories of documents being brought to the senator-judges' attention, coming from purported anonymous sources.
“Katulad itong kinuha sa AMLC, hindi pa nga verified. Paano pa kaya itong hawak ni Harvey Keh? It is important for the court to know where the documents came from. Katulad nitong bank documents, may nagsasabi sa little lady, may nagsasabi sa garahe. Alam mo ginagawa kaming bata nito,” Estrada said.
Corona's lawyers have maintained that the testimonies of Morales should not be taken hook, line and sinker because the alleged report from the Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC) cannot be verified nor authenticated by the Ombudsman.
Keh has also testified before the Senate impeachment court, where he was subsequently asked by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile to show cause why he should not be cited for contempt for trying to influence the impeachment court when he brought an envelope purportedly containing evidence against the Chief Justice last week.
Meanwhile, former Akbayan partylist Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel on Wednesday told the Senate impeachment court that complainants who asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the allege foreign currency deposits of chief Justice Renato Corona did not mention anything about $10 million.
Baraquel, taking the witness stand for the defense panel, told the Senate impeachment court that she did not mention any specific amount to her letter complaint before the Ombudsman.
"Ang nakalagay po doon sa letter complaint namin ay various peso and dollar account at hindi sinabi na $10 million," she told the impeachment court during the direct examination by the defense panel.
Baraquel and other complainants filed the letter-complaint dated Feb. 17 before the Ombudsman which contained alleged 18 bank accounts of chief justice in PSBank and BPI banks.
"Ang purpose ay hilingin sa Office ng Ombudsman [ang imbestigasyon] sa isyu ng dollar accounts," she added.
Baraquel also said she wrote Presiding Senator-Judge Juan Ponce Enrile last May 14, reiterating that the complainants did not mention any amount regarding the alleged dollar accounts of Corona. - Dennis Carcamo