Corona to Aquino: Disclose SALN, psychological records

Friday, February 17, 2012

MANILA -- Chief Justice Renato Corona, accused of concealing hefty bank accounts and posh condominium units, dared President Benigno Aquino III on Friday to disclose his net worth and psychological records to the public.

In response to Aquino's tirades in a speech at La Consolacion College in Manila, Corona said Aquino has the duty to explain the sources of his income.

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Last month, allies of the former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called on Aquino to discuss the jump in his wealth, from P15 million in 2009 to nearly P55 million in 2010, citing a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

But Malacañang has since brushed off speculations on the President's wealth, which was attributed to the sale of a family property in Antipolo City and other inherited assets from his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, who died in August 2009.

Corona also dared Aquino to reveal his psychological records, which became an issue against the President during the 2010 presidential elections.

"We have an obligation to the people to show our state of mind," Corona said in Filipino.

Aquino earlier denied the document from the Department of Psychology of Ateneo de Manila University in 1979 showing that he had suffered from depression and melancholia after his father, the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was jailed for various charges by former President Ferdinand Marcos.

On Thursday, the President reminded Corona that he is not above the law after he allegedly failed to disclose his real statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) and for the repeated attempts of his lawyers to block the presentation of his bank records before the impeachment court.

"I can fully explain my SALN in due time in deference to the impeachment proceedings," Corona said, adding the Supreme Court (SC) passed a resolution in 1989 exempting the members of the judiciary from the rule since it might be used against them by the litigants with pending cases before the courts.

Corona's non-disclosure of SALN is among the eight articles of impeachment filed against him before the Senate impeachment court last month.

The Chief Justice also admitted that he has a dollar account but the senators deferred the opening of its contents following the temporary restraining order released by the SC last February 9.

Meanwhile, Corona said Aquino is using state coffers to vilify his family and earn public support in the impeachment trial.

"Is this what you call a fair battle? A move toward the straight path?" Corona said, adding the 188 congressmen and 60 private prosecutors, as well as officers from the tax bureau, immigration, and land registry, were used by Aquino to secure conviction.

Instead of focusing his energies on the impeachment, Corona advised Aquino to grow the economy, lessen the incidence of poverty, stem the rising prices of basic commodities, and disaster response.

But deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on Friday Corona should just explain to the public where all the money in this accounts came from.

"If he had only used this statement to clear his name, then public discourse about this issue would not have been diminished. Has anything good come out of Mr. Corona’s statement? No," she said.

Also on Friday, Malacañang said the timing of the closure by Corona of his three multi-million bank accounts on the same day he was impeached by the House of Representatives was suspicious.

Valte said this has to be explained by Corona’s defense team before the Senate impeachment court.

Officials of the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) testifying before the impeachment court on Thursday disclosed that three accounts under the name of the Chief Justice was closed on December 12, 2011, the same day Corona was impeached at the House of Representatives.

Pascual Garcia III, president of PSBank, and Annabelle Tiongson, Katipunan branch manager, separately confirmed to senator-judges the termination of the three accounts, which contained P32.6 million.

Corona was impeached after 188 lawmakers signed the complaint against him. He is accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and graft and corruption.

The prosecution panel is convinced that Corona's move to close three peso bank accounts on the same day he was impeached is a "clear sign of guilt."

"The fact that he ordered these accounts terminated the same day the House impeached him tends to show that there was an attempt on his part to conceal these," Deputy Majority Leader Romero Frederico "Miro" Quimbo said.

"This is a clear sign that Corona is guilty of concealing huge banks deposits," Deputy Speaker Lorenzo "Erin" Tañada III said.

"The P17 million in just one deposit represents about 30 years of his pay as Supreme Court justice based on the documents of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The only way he can justify this huge stash, aside from being perhaps a repeat winner in PSBank raffles, is that he was a secret Lotto winner," Tañada said.

Tañada was referring to the P17-million peso time deposit account disclosed by the PSBank president. The said account was opened in June 29, 2011 and closed on December 12.

Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, for his part, said it is safe to assume that Corona converted his riches to dollar deposits to keep these beyond the reach of the law and scrutiny.

"As a multiple account holder well-versed in banking practices, he knows that a legal firewall fences foreign currency deposits. That is why, as his impeachment loomed, he closed his peso deposits as these were no longer safe havens of his unexplained wealth," Angara said. (With SDR/Sunnex)