Di dapat ikaila kung walang tinatagong masama: My explanation of verdict on the case vs Chief Justice Renato Corona

Hindi dineklara ni Ginoong Corona ang daang milyong piso at dolyar namga account. Hindi niya idineklara taon-taon ang mga milyon- milyong pisong pag-aari ng mga condo units. Ang hindi pagdeklara ng makatotohanang SALN taon-taon sa loob ng halos isang dekada ay dishonesty at isang culpable violation of the Constitution.

Ano po ang ebidensiya? Nariyan ang salaysay ng PS Bank President, ng Ombudsman, at ni Ginoong Corona mismo. P22 Million ang sinabi niya sa SALN niya, ngunit halos P200 milyong cash ang inamin niyang hawak niya. Ito ba ay minor na kakulangan lamang? Dapat bang daang bilyon ang hindi idineklara para maging mabigat ang kaso?

At kung sa malinis na paraan nakuha ang mga ito ano ang masama na ideklara niya lahat dahil wala naman siyang tinatago? Di dapat ikaila kung walang tinatagong masama. Base po sa ebidensiya, maliwanag na nagkaroon ng sistematikong pagtatago ng ari-arian, sistematikong pagtatakip sa tunay na halaga ng mga ito.

It pains me as a lawyer and as an officer of the court to say that clearly the Chief Justice displayed a disturbing pattern of dishonesty, willful concealment, and evasion and a blatant and wanton disregard of the provisions of the Constitution on the SALN.

Sa paglilitis na ito, nakita rin natin ang pagkatao ni Chief Justice. Siya ba ay dapat pa nating pagkatiwalaan? Kung hindi po natin i-convict si Ginoong Corona, sabi po ni Speaker Belmonte, anim na taon pa siyang uupo bilang Chief Justice. Kung kaya niyang ipagkait sa mismo niyang kamag-anakan ang kanilang ari-arian sa Basa Guidote gayong daang milyon na pala ang kanyang cash, siya ba ay dapat pagkatiwalaan sa loob pa ng anim na taon?

Kung kaya niyang ipakita ang kawalan ng respeto sa 23 Senador nung siya ay nagtangkang magwalk-out, na sa aking paniwala ay napigil lamang dahil sa mabilis na kilos ng ating mahal na Senate President, ginawa niya ito sa harap mismo ng lahat ng media at buong bansa, paano kaya ang pagtrato niya sa maliliit nating mga kababayan na hindi mga Senador na dumudulog sa kanyang tanggapan? Siya ba ay mapagkakatiwalaan na rumespeto sa maliliit nating mga kababayan sa loob pa ng anim na taon?

Dapat po siyang managot dahil siya po ay nagkasala. Tulad na lamang ng isang court interpreter sa Davao na sinibak mismo ng Supreme Court dahil hindi nito inilagay sa kanyang SALN ang pag-aari niyang market stall sa palengke.

Tama ba na ang pagsisinungaling ng maliliit at mahihirap ay parusahan habang ang pagsisinungaling ng makapangyarihan ay i-abswelto?Ang pagsisinungaling ba ay impeachable offense?

Si Chief Justice na mismo ang nagsabi sa kanyang talumpati sa harap ng Manila Overseas Press Club noong June 24, 2010 kung ano ang nararapat sa mga huwes na hindi tapat sa tungkulin.

Sabi po ni Chief Justice, “I believe that a member of the judiciary who is found guilty of dishonesty should not only be dismissed from the service; he should also be disbarred—no ifs or buts.

Siya na po ang nagsabi na kapag ang isang huwes ay nagsisinungaling hindi lang ito dapat sibakin sa pwesto—dapat pa itong ma-disbar bilang abogado. Sa kanyang mga labi na mismo nanggaling na nararapat siyang ma-convict at masibak sa pwesto.

The vote to convict is a vote to defeat abuses and excesses in government.


Ang boto ng conviction ay boto upang wakasan na ang pang-aabuso at pagmamalabis ng mga opisyal ng ating bansa.

We all want a better, more progressive nation. We all want our nation to reach developed nation status in our lifetime and for our children. But critical to a modern state is an effective system of justice that has the trust and faith and confidence of our people. We all want to see the end of abuses in governance.
We have heard of expose’s after expose’s of abuses in the government.
We have witnessed lawlessness, criminality, corruption and disrespect for the rule of law.
Respect for the rule of law will only be realized if punishment of the guilty is swift and in a fair trial. Unless we punish more and punished swiftly, lowlessness, abused and disregard of our laws will not be defeated.

Those who wish to abuse their offices will continue to be emboldened to commit their nefarious activities. Only when we punish the guilty and punish them swiftly in a fair trial will respectfor the rule of law be restored.

No Less than the Chief Justice has been accused of culpable violation of the Constitution.
To convict him is to uphold the rule of law and it will send the signal to the entire nation that the rule of law should be respected and should strike fear in the hearts of all those who wish to violate our laws and disrespect the constitution.

For this reason, I find the Chief Justice guilty.

Our statement of support for former Isabela Governor Grace Padaca

 We are deeply saddened and disheartened by the news that former Governor Grace Padaca of Isabela is now subject of a warrant of arrest for a criminal case pending before the Sandiganbayan.

This case notwithstanding, we believe in the innocence of the former governor and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service. We also believe that in the end the truth will prevail and that she will be absolved.

I have no doubt in my mind that Governor Grace is a woman of principle and integrity, and that this criminal case is but an effort by her political adversaries to bring her down.

In addition, the fact that the project in question is now in limbo because of this case—a project means to uplift the plight of farmers in the province—is another most unfortunate development.

In the end, I trust that our system of justice will strike down this grave injustice to the former governor and to our rice farmers in the province of Isabela.

On CJ Corona's dollar accounts: Divulge dollar accounts willingly as you promised — or we will do it for you

If Chief Justice Corona refuses on the witness stand to have his dollar accounts opened for the scrutiny of the senator-judges, we will be left with no choice but to set aside the previous vote to respect the Supreme Court TRO on these accounts and compel PS Bank to open up these accounts in the trial.

The verdict in this trial rests primarily on determining whether or not these dollar accounts exist. It is the duty of the impeachment court to seek the truth even if it means disregarding a TRO by the Supreme Court.

This TRO has become a tool used by the respondent to suppress the truth. The impeachment court has the sole power to try and decide impeachment cases, and this TRO violates the Constitution because it severely hampers our ability to try the case. The SC TRO, as feared, has become an unwarranted and unlawful encroachment on our sole power to try the case. If we continue to respect this TRO we are not only sharing a power that the Constitution says is ours alone—worse, we become obedient serviles of the Supreme Court and its Chief Justice, allowing them all to tell us how we are to try and decide impeachment cases.

Hawak, ika nga, sa leeg o sa ilong ng SC ang impeachment court sa TRO na ito.

We laud new NEDA Chief's focus on agri to address poverty

As Senate Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, we laud the pronouncement of new Director General of the National Economic Development Authority Arsenio Balisacan that his focus will be on the agriculture sector in addressing sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. For us to reach the level of economic growth similar to our ASEAN neighbors like Thailand and Malaysia, there is no other way to do so but to invest in agriculture modernization and development. Half the nation’s population live in rural areas where agriculture and fisheries is the primary source of income.

 When we up the incomes of the rural folk, the multiplier effect on the rest of the economy will be tremendous.

(May 15, 2012) Impeachment Trial: My Ecumenical Prayer

Almighty Father, Heavenly King, as we near the end of this historic impeachment trial as Senator-Judges, we humbly seek Your infinite wisdom, Your boundless courage, and immeasurable strength as we fulfill one constitutional duty to render impartial justice in these proceedings.

We thank You, Oh Lord, that after nearly six months, we have come this far in search of the truth and in the pursuit of justice.

We thank You, Heavenly King, for both the prosecution and the defense who have endeavored mightily to pursue their respective causes.

We thank You for our presiding officer, our Senate President, for his remarkable stamina and unparalleled incisiveness in the steering of these proceedings.

We humbly ask you to bless, to guide, and to shepherd all parties in their proceeding including the respondent Chief Justice and his family.

And at that point when a decision by the court is made, regardless of the outcome, we pray that You allow the healing of the nation to commence.

Gabayan mo po kami, Panginoong makapangyarihan, sa aming hangarin na maitaguyod ang katarungan at katotohanan sa paglilitis na ito. Nawa’y mangibabaw ang hustisya para sa lahat.

Finally, we ask You Oh Lord to bless our beloved nation and our people, and that in the end it is her interest and that of her citizens, the Filipino people alone who are best served by the verdict of this Court.

Amen

What would you like to ask CJ Corona?

Yesterday we posted this question on our Twitter and Facebook accounts. Below are some of the responses we got from you.






"Since the Chief Justice said he would appear in the trial, if you could ask him the questions directly, what question(s) would you ask?"


If you want to give/post your own questions, please leave a comment below or tweet using the hash tag #questionsforCJ


Joel P Garduce: Honorable Chief Justice, why did you choose for your defense in this impeachment trial lawyers from powerful law firms that surely have important cases pending in our justice system, if not the SC itself? Isn't it obvious that even if you are acquitted from this trial, you will have clearly compromised the integrity of the SC and the office of the Chief Justice itself, whether or not these lawyers handled your case pro bono?

Joseph Pangilinan: Would you consider the SALE of 90% BGEI shares of stocks by your wife Mrs. Cristina Corona, for Php28,000, to your daughter Carla Corona Castillo, a legitimate, ethical, and morally palatable transaction?  Who were the lawyers of the said transaction, what were their law offices, and did such offices have any cases pending in the judiciary?

Sheila Mae Tabamo:  I'd like to ask the CJ about the honors he received while he was a student & why he allowed misrepresentation of his credentials

Cez Montejo: Are you willing to submit yourself and your family for further investigation once irregularities have been found in ALL THE COURT CASES of your immediate family?...and allies? The Basa Case clearly appears to be a brilliant machination of legal minds that brought about the stripping off of wealth from the original owners, the BASA family, your wife's kin. Do you think it's fair? You might be victorious in crippling the very family of your wife bourne from her stealing the rent. The machination led to practically rendering the case against your wife a JOKE. Hence, the need for your wife and daughter to reveal further involvement of other parties only your wife and daughter can explain. Its relevance to the SALN? Your family appears to be "double owners" of the company, as a result of the execution of the writ, and by purchasing of the shares by your daughter. Kindly explain why it is not declared in your SALN?

Patrick C. Guanzon: Why did u not hear the government 1st before granting the TRO to GMA when she was about to leave the country? 


Steven Baldesco Why do you have so many bank accounts? Are you trying to escape accountability in doing so? Are you willing to let the Impeachment Court open every single one of those accounts? And for the sake of the country, won't you just resign and spare the Filipino people from more of your melodrama?

Tanghod Pinoy: Why did u accept a midnight appointment? Why did BGEI money ends up in your account? Why did u close PSB acct n open another?

Patty Reyes: My question for CJ is...why didn't you put all your assets in your previous SALNs? Are you hiding anything?

Tess Gulledge: Sir, my question would be how did he acquire his assets and can he show us documentation explaining the acquisition.

Sinawe Cali Mamao CJ Corona, will you let your dollar account be opened by the Impeachment Court?

Cez Montejo Are you the legal counsel of BGEI with your daughter now being the major stockholder? Since you are not, will you allow your daughter to declare BGEI's networth and explain other circumstances in behalf of BGEI? What is the legal definition of fair ?

Marie Keith Habal For the sake of peace and unity in our country, would you be willing to set aside your personal interest and relinquish your position even if in yourself, you believe you have done nothing wrong?

Nelson Salazar Badilla  How come you earned millions of money and acquired several properties when in fact your only job for the past several years was serve the public? 

Rene Pedro C. Baltasar CJ will you waive the TRO on your supposed Dollar Accounts? Why not come clean and save your family's reputation? 

Daisy Zapanta-Nodque Acquitted or not, will you still hold on to your position as CJ? or get out of SC to enable it to start fresh & anew... because whether you agree or not... the reputation of SC has somehow been affected because of you...does it come to your mind to spare SC from all the brouhaha and leave the post to someone whose reputation has not been tarnished?! 

Linda Pangilinan Why don't you spare us the drama and quit while you are ahead? 

Olit Milan Sa airport nga po ndi ba pag me nakipadala sa inyo ng kung anu man dahil nasa pangalan nyo yun ndi ba kau dapat managot kung anu man laman nun? Anu po pagkakaiba nun sa pera ni mrs corona na pinangalan sa inyo? 

Joel Ferrer CJ Corona do you consider yourself to be an Unbiased and Fair judge when it comes to cases of the Arroyos?Do you have a clear conscience, and do you sleep peacefully at night?

Philip Camara:  Mr. CJ, in your SALNs you placed the value of your real estate acquisitions on the basis of government assessed values rather than the acquisition price as has been revealed and defended in this trial. True, there are no clear cut rules on valuation for SALNs. However, since you took out a loan of P11 million which rightfully enters the "liability side" of your SALN and this loan is placed at face value, how can you justify using any other value for the "asset" side apart from the purchase price considering that doing so (using a government assessed value) will result in a transaction that causes the Networth to become negative for that transaction and therefore undervalue the networth in total?

In other words, if I take out a loan of P11m and buy a property for P12m and declare it in my SALN at the purchase price, then my networth increased by P1m, which is fact the truth of what that transaction does to my networth. But if I declare the property that I purchased for P12m using a loan of P11m at say only P3m justifying this based on government assessed value, then my Networth will decrease by P8m (P11m Loan - P3m new asset at declared value).

Is this kind of reporting on your SALN your idea of a public official declaring the true value of it's networth? Is this even logical?

For me it may be defensible if no loan was contracted. But with a loan, declaring any other value apart from the purchase price is an attempt at misleading if not outright lying to the public about one's networth, which is the whole purpose of filing the SALN in the first place. Please explain.

Pompeyo Pedroche : 1. Did he know that he accepted an unethical midnight appointment to the highest position in the judiciary? 2. Did he really have that huge amount of money, granting it's not ill-gotten? 3. Why keep such ridiculously enormous amount? For his grand children's grandchildren? 4. Did he really embellish his Ateneo academic records or someone like Midas did it but keeping quiet about it until it's exposed? 5. Is he paying gratis to all these abogados de Campanilla to defend him from the charges? 6. How much sleep does he enjoy since the trial began? 7. Where do his knights of the Round Table? In one of his mansions? Just Delivery Pizza for dinner? 

 Cocoy Dayao: Why did you take the job of Chief Justice? 

                          How many millions of pesos do you have? 

                          Why don't you just resign? 

                         Why do you sound like a trapo and not a Chief Justice? 

                         What can you say to convince me that your wealth is not ill-gotten?

mlerias: Which one is your payroll? Isn't it suppose to be in a government bank like Landbank? I didn't hear any mention of that at all so I don't know where all the rest is coming from when you are not suppose to have any businesses as CJ? 

On clamor behind Corona's decision to appear in impeachment court

Perhaps they have come to realize that to ignore the public clamor, as well as the clamor of senator-judges for the Chief Justice to appear and explain his side as he had earlier promised, would be detrimental to their case. The senator-judges have time and time again said that they were many questions that continue to remain unanswered—particularly on the issue of his dollar accounts—that only the Chief Justice can and ought to explain. If you tally the number of senators who have publicly said that his appearance is vital, you will see that there is near-unanimity on the issue. This may explain why the defense has shifted strategies.