Gaps between Corona’s SALN and land records

By Lala Ordenes-Cascolan, VERA Files

Chief Justice Renato Corona, impeached for failure to disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), among others, has three condominium units and three other real properties in Marikina, Taguig and Quezon City registered to him, his wife Ma. Cristina, and to both of them as co-owners.

Of these, the chief magistrate failed to declare a 631.6-sq. m. lot in Quezon City he bought in 1995; a Marikina property—seven parcels of land covered by seven TCTs—was declared in his 1992 SALN and was no longer mentioned since; and a 113.02-sq. m. condominium in Bonifacio Ridge in Taguig, acquired in 2004, was not declared until 2010. A 62.7-sq. m. condo, acquired by installment in 1997, was declared only in 2003.

The titles to the properties were submitted on Thursday by the registers of deeds of the three cities to the Senate in compliance with the subpoena issued by the chamber, which is sitting as impeachment court and trying Corona on allegations of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and graft and corruption.

Three other properties owned by the chief justice’s daughters were also presented in court, two in the name of “Constantino Castillo III, married to Ma. Carla C. Castillo,” and one in the name of Charina Corona

Click here (VERA Files) to read the complete story.

January 24, 2012 7:51 am  Tags:   Posted in: Corona Impeachment, Justice, Supreme Court  50 Comments

May kuneksyun ba ang kaso ni Gatdula at Mancao?

Gatdula and De Lima

Nagkataon lang kaya o may kuneksyun ang pagtanggal kay Director Magtanggol Gatdula ng National Bureau of Investigation sa kanyang pwesto at ang desisyun ng Manila Regional Trial Court (Branch 18) na manatili ang dating opisyal ng pulis na si Cezar Mancao II bilang akusado sa kaso ng pagpatay sa publicist na si Salvador “Bubby” Dacer at ang kanyang driver na si Emmanuel Corbito?

Mancao accompanied by then NBI Director Nestor Mantaring

Marami sa mga reporter na nagtatrabaho sa Japanese media ang nagtataka kung bakit pinatulan ni Justice secretary Leila de Lima ang paratang ng Haponesang si Noriyo Ohara na kinidnap daw siya at kinikilan ng mga ahente ng NBI kasama si Gatdula.

Alam daw kasi ng mga opisyal ng Japanese Embassy na may kuneksyun ni Ohara sa mga hindi kanais-nais na mga grupo sa Hapon at hindi malaman kung alin sa mga sinasabi niya ay totoo. Noong taon 2009 pa raw dito sa Pilipinas ngunit noong Oktubre 29, 2011 siya hinuli ng mga ahente ng NBI sa Pangasinan sa bahay ng ‘handler’ niya dito.

Itong handler niya, kilala ang isang media man na may kuneksyun sa mga taga DOJ.
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January 21, 2012 9:21 pm  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Abante, Justice  23 Comments

Gatdula axed as NBI Director

President Aquino said he has lost trust on NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula. He is president and he has every right to fire anybody whom he no longer trusts.

But there must be competent way to do it.

After the Department of Justice implicated NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula in kidnapping and extortion, here comes the DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan saying they didn’t make any conclusion.

Take a look at the letter Justice Secretary Leila de Lima sent to the Ombudsman. She can’t decide who she is sending the letter to.

Please click on photo to view it enlarged


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January 20, 2012 6:31 pm  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Justice  37 Comments

‘Beyond my competence’

Kris Aquino's competence

The quote for this week should be: “It’s not within my competence.”

That was what Supreme Court Clerk of Court Enriquita Vidal told the Senate-turned-impeachment court when she was still in a dilemma whether to comply with the trial court’s order to produce the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

A variation of it, “It’s not within the competence of the witness,” was former Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas’ constant protest when prosecution lawyers would ask records custodians-witnesses to comment on the veracity of the contents of the documents that they were merely told to bring to the impeachment court.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda also said, “It is not within my competence.”
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January 20, 2012 4:32 pm  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Benigno Aquino III, Foreign Affairs  12 Comments

Corona declares P22.9M net worth, 5 properties

By YVONNE T. CHUA, VERA Files

Chief Justice Renato C. Corona has reported a net worth of P22.9 million and five pieces of property, including three condominium units he bought in the 10 years he was member of the Supreme Court.

Corona, who was impeached last month and is being tried by the Senate, has been accused of failure to disclose to the public his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth.

The impeachment complaint from the House of Representatives also quoted reports that that some of Corona’s properties were not included in his declarations and alleged he has accumulated ill-gotten wealth, having acquired assets of high values and keeping bank accounts with huge deposits.

Corona has invoked a 1992 en banc resolution restricting the release of SALNs of members of the judiciary in refusing to release the statements to the public.

But Supreme Court clerk of court Enriqueta Vidal was forced yesterday to surrender Corona’s SALNs since 2002 on orders of the Senate. Also yesterday, the Supreme Court authorized the turnover of the documents to the impeachment court.

For the rest of the report, please click here (VERA Files).

January 19, 2012 3:48 pm  Tags:   Posted in: Corona Impeachment, Justice, Supreme Court  31 Comments

Impeachment trial as comedy

Barzaga

Who says the Corona impeachment trial would be boring with all the legal gobbledygook, a classic quote by then Sen. Rodolfo Biazon during the Estrada impeachment trial in 2000, that we expect would dominate the trial?

It was the second day and the prosecution was expected to start the presentation of evidence. It was
Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr (Cavite, 2nd dist) who was the lead prosecutor and he started with saying that it
was in the public interest that they start with Article 2 of the Impeachment complaint which was“culpable violation of the Constitution and/or betrayed the public trust when he failed disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities, and networth statement of assets,
liabilities, and net worth as required unders Sec. 17, Art. XI of the 1987 Constitution.”

The defense, as expected, opposed the re-arranging of the order of presentation of evidence. Barzaga said the prosecution was not ready with the evidence for Article 1 which was “betrayal of the public trust through his track record marked by partiality and subservience in cases involving the Arroyo administration from the time of his appointment as supreme court justice which continued to his dubious appointment as a midnight chief justice and up to the present. “
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January 17, 2012 8:57 pm  Tags:   Posted in: Corona Impeachment, Justice, Supreme Court  20 Comments

Lacierda:WB report on JRSP genuine

Statement of Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on the World Bank report on the Judiciary

Contrary to the excitable—but utterly wrong—conclusions of an opposition lawmaker, the World Bank report on Judicial Reform Support Program (JRSP) is genuine. It seems that what the World Bank has done is clarify that it did not release the report to the media, but a careful reading of its statement shows that they did not deny the authenticity of the report itself.

We have verified with officials who were furnished copies of the World Bank report that the version uploaded by a media outfit online, and theirs, are a match. The report details the expenditures declared ineligible for World Bank funding. It also demanded a refund from the Supreme Court for expenses that were not covered by the grant.

It is interesting to note that neither the Chief Justice nor his spokesman have disputed the authenticity, or the existence, of the report: what the Chief Justice has egregiously misrepresented is that the report didn’t cover his period in office; while his spokesman dodged the issue by calling it “unfair.” The truth is the report specifically covers the period of Mr. Corona being Chief Justice.

As the President has pointed out, the report proves the pressing need for reforms in the judiciary. Reforms that the present Chief Justice, who has lost his moral ascendancy, is incapable of achieving. The ongoing impeachment of the Chief Justice is thus a vital step in the process of reforming the judiciary, so that it can finally deliver true justice, speedily and impartially, to our people.

January 17, 2012 12:42 pm  Tags: ,   Posted in: Supreme Court, World Bank projects  22 Comments

Philippine media fell for hoax WB report?

Philippine media has a term for it: kuryente

It looks like a number of Philippine media organizations were victims of a hoax World BanK Report regarding Supreme Court’s Judicial Reform Support Project criticizing Chief Justice Renato Corona and Court Aministrator Midas Marquez.

Manila Bulletin came out with a report on WB disowning the so-called JRSP report. Here it is:

World Bank disowns JRSP report
By CHINO S. LEYCO
January 16, 2012, 5:38pm

MANILA, Philippines — The World Bank denied on Monday it released a report on the Supreme Court’s Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP) that noted its dissatisfaction with the way the project was being implemented.

Erika Leann Lacson-Esguerra, World Bank program assistant for external relations, said Monday the bank did not release to the media a supposed memo regarding the “unsatisfactory” progress of the high court’s loan.

“This email message did not come from the World Bank. Any official statement from the World Bank will be posted online (www.worldbank.org.ph),” Lacson-Esguerra said.
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January 17, 2012 12:23 am  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Justice, Supreme Court  18 Comments

The Corona impeachment trigger

It's the Gloria Arroyo connection, CJ

The trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona has started.

It is expected that like the Estrada impeachment trial, the Corona impeachment would also be a blockbuster telenovela that will be followed by the Filipino nation. Afternoons will now be prime TV hours, Mondays through Thursdays.

It is appropriate to ponder how we got into this situation that viewed from the Aquino administration’s perspective would result in reforms in the judiciary and better government for the people. From the political opposition’s perspective, however, it’s trampling on the Constitutional guarantee of separation of powers and bastardizing democracy.

I think it’s good to know how we got into this situation in the first place. We must ask why, after one-and-a-half-years in office, Aquino finally decided to move for the ouster of Corona.
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January 16, 2012 5:49 pm  Tags:   Posted in: Justice, Supreme Court  26 Comments

VERA Files follows Corona Trial

VERA Files has created a page on the Corona Trial.

I encourage you to visit it. We will try to help readers understand the proceedings with commentaries and analysis from both sides.

By VERA FILES

On January 16, 2012, Renato C. Corona, the country’s 23rd Chief Justice, will go on trial before the Senate. The charges: culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal and public trust, and graft and corruption.

On December 12, 2011, Corona became the first Chief Justice and the third public official to be impeached by the House of Representatives in the country’s history. His perceived partiality to former President and now Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was chiefly his undoing. Arroyo herself is under arrest for electoral fraud in connection with the 2007 elections and graft and corruption arising from the scandalous $329 million national broadband network between the Philippine government and China’s ZTE Corp.

The trial of President Joseph Estrada, the first public official ever impeached over charges of plunder, among others, was aborted on Jan. 16, 2001 when the House prosecutors walked out from the proceedings, to protest the perceived bias of the 11 senator-judges, triggering the second People Power that led to Estrada’s ouster.

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez , impeached in March 2011 over allegations of her office’s underperformance and failure to act on several cases during then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration, never went on trial. She resigned before the trial could start.

VERA Files has collated frequently asked questions about Corona’s impeachment to help the public understand what happened in the House of Representatives and will happen in the Senate.

Please click (VERA Files) here for the rest of the FAQs

January 16, 2012 5:25 pm   Posted in: Justice, Supreme Court  5 Comments