Prosecution fishing for evidence—JPE

The House prosecution’s penchant for asking vague subpoenas tends to prove that the accusers of the impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona are merely fishing for evidence.


Enrile issued a stern warning after handing down a ruling approving the prosecution panel’s
motion withdrawing its earlier request for the court to issue subpoenaes to some bank executives, as well as property developers, supposedly privy to alleged bank deposits and condos of the embattled SC chief justice.


Enrile directed them as well as the defense panel to specify in their requests for the issuance of subpoena ad testificandum and duces tecum the reasons for such.


“I noticed that the prosecution has requested this court to issue a subpoenas against certain real estate developers especially developers of buildings like condominiums, requiring the introduction of all kinds of records involved in the development which is a buckshot manner of requesting subpoenae,” he said.


I’m not saying that they are doing it intentionally but the impression is you are actually fishing for evidence which is not proper, he said.


At the hearing, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) also revealed it is investigating the tax records of Corona, his wife and children parallel to the impeachment trial that prompted Senator-Judge Joker Arroyo to caution yesterday’s prosecution witness, Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto Henares, to be wary of the possible public perception that “government forces are being used” to harass the Coronas.


The BIR’s move came following the agency’s head claim to have discovered purported irregularities only after being given


the green light by Malacañang to surrender the records to the Senate impeachment court.


Prosecutors said that based on Corona’s tax returns that the BIR surrendered, he had amassed unexplained wealth of at least P10 million which his lawful income from 2006 to 2010 could not support.


“Remember the question here is one of policy. We don’t want the public to think that the forces of government are being used (in) the impeachment initiated by the House of Representatives and now tossed to the Senate for trial, then another one before the BIR for some tax malfeaseance or whatever. Im not questioning any, but (I’m raising) my concern,” Arroyo said.


Arroyo also raised what he noted as a possible crucial issue, as he brought up the matter of the prosecution discussing the merits of the case which has not actually been entered formally into the records of the proceedings or introduced as evidence.


Henares, in testifying for the second straight day, admitted that her office is “conducting an investigation at present” on the tax records pertaining to Corona’s two daughters namely Ma. Carla Corona-Castillo and Ma. Czarina Corona, registered owners of some prime real estate properties.


These properties, a parcel of land in the posh La Vista subdivision in Quezon City worth P18 million and a P6.1-million property in McKinley Hill in The Fort, Taguig City are among those both alleged to be amassed illegally by Corona along with a P14 million reported penthouse in Belaggio condominium in Global City, also in Taguig.


Henares told private prosecutor Arthur Lim, during a direct examination, that Carla has not filed any income tax return (ITR) other than what appeared in their records in 2008 and 2009 and that the “daughter does not have enough, has very minimal income”.


Under cross-examination, however, Henares said she did not know that Carla has been living in abroad for the past decade.


The discovery came only last Friday, after Henares received an authorization from the Office of the President, signed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., to reveal the tax returns of Corona’s daughters along with that of the chief justice, his wife, son and a son-in-law.


She said she was given permission to disclose any information regarding the income of Chief Justice Corona and his family members from year 1992 to 2010; Ma. Carla Corona-Castillo from year 2000 to 2010, the husband Constantino III from 2000 to 2010; Ma. Czarina Corona from year 2005 to 2010; Francis Corona from 2005 to 2010 and all the CARs relating to the Belaggio 1 in year 2009; all the CARs relating to transactions relating McKinley hills for a certain year in the memorandum issued by the President and I have not disclosed anything that’s not in that order,” she told the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court.


The matter on probing Castillo was brought about by their assessment on her capacity to acquire an P18 million property on the P11-million La Vista property in 2010, the BIR chief said.


“If the buyer does not have capacity or the land being purchased is P18 million but her income is P11,000, then there is a reason to investigate it because it means either the sale is not a sale but a donation. That’s a 20 percent tax rate,” Henares said.


Arroyo, in questioning Henares asked the procedure on the BIR conducting an investigation on similar cases, underscoring her participation in the process.


“If we move against one person, here in the Senate and another one in the internal revenue through investigation using the powers of the BIR – that’s very important...because, from your testimony, if you said that ‘we are now conducting an investigation’ there seems to be some over-eagerness in that,” the senator said.


Henares replied that if they see something wrong and do nothing, they could be accused of sleeping on the job.


Arroyo then asked if Henares could have postponed the investigation. “You’re going to appear here simultaneously if you’re going to conduct an investigation, it will be unusual...you’re preparing your testimony here at the same time you and your office are studying already whether the respondent Corona did not have enough income...what’s the nature of your investigation?” inquired Arroyo to which he was told that it’s the networth method to determine whether there was some income that he did not report and did not pay taxes there on.


Under questioning by the defense lead counsel, retired Justice Serafin Cuevas if Henares has acted on similar cases, she initially invoked confidentiality of the issue only to admit on record that she knew of other cases but cannot divulge details due to the prohibition under the National Internal Revenue Code.


Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo, one of the three spokesmen of the prosecution panel, said the combined salaries of Corona and his wife Cristina, former president and chief executive officer of the state-owned John Hay Management Corp., was only at P4.6 million as opposed to his declared net worth of P14.6 million over the period of five years.


He said the figures are based on Corona’s own Statements of Assets, Liabilities and networth (SALn) and the tax records submitted by Henares to the Senate impeachment court.


“There is a variance of P10 million. This means that there is an unexplained increase in Corona’s wealth based on what he reported in his SALn, which is also not supported by his salary and that of his wife,” Quimbo said.


Quimbo added even with the combined salary of the Corona couple for five years, it would be hard to justify their acquisition of three condominium units totaling P27.2 million.


“Based on the deeds of absolute sale of these properties, you will see unexplained increase of assets of P22 million that cannot be supported by their income over the last five years,” Quimbo said.


Prosecution evidence showed that the Corona couple bought a 303-square-meter penthouse unit, with three parking slots, at the Bellagio Tower in Taguig City for P14.5 million in 2009; a unit at Bonifacio Ridge, also in Taguig City, for P9.1 million in 2004; and a unit at The Columns in Makati City for P3.6 million in 2003.


However, the prosecution noted that Corona undervalued the three properties by P16.9 million in his SALn for 2010.


In his 2010 SALN, Corona declared the Bellagio property only costs P6.8 million, Bonifacio Ridge at P2.3 million, and The Columns at P1.2 million.


Prosecutors are expected to continue presenting testimonies and evidence on the properties, including motor vehicles and investments, which Corona failed to declare in his SALn.


The prosecution panel had asked the Senate impeachment court to summon Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Virginia Torres and officials of Filinvest Alabang Inc. (FAI) in connection with Corona’s undeclared assets.


In a two-page request signed by lead prosecutor Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. and private prosecutor Mario Bautista, the panel asked the Impeachment Court to order Torres to appear on Jan. 30 and bring with her certified true copies of certificate of registration of all vehicles recorded and registered in the names of Corona and his wife Cristina.


The prosecution noted that Corona did not declare any cars in his SALn from 2003 to 2010. However, in 2002, his first year in the Supreme Court, Corona declared motor vehicles worth P1.13 million in his SALn.


Meanwhile, the prosecution revealed that Corona and his wife own a share in the exclusive The Palms Country Club in Alabang, Muntinlupa City worth at least P660,000, which the country’s chief magistrate also failed to disclose in his SALn.


It is for this reason that the prosecution had asked the Senate to issue a subpoena requiring officials of FAI to produce documents pertaining to the ownership of the Corona spouses of a common share in The Palms that was eventually converted into a “Class A” share.


FAI owns and operates The Palms, a 300,000-square meter posh resort within the Filinvest Corporate City.


In its request for subpoena, the prosecution asked that FAI vice presidents Mary Eleonor Mendoza and Ava Venus Mejia be ordered to appear before the impeachment court on Jan. 30.


Mendoza is being requested to bring the original and photocopy of Contract to Sell Common Share between FAI and the Corona spouses dated July 24, 2006 covering one common share of The Palms.


Mejia, on the other hand, is being asked to bring with her the following: deed of sale of common share between FAI and the Coronas notarized on Sept. 11, 2009 covering one common share of The Palms; The Palms Class “A” Share No. 000891 in the name of FAI; and The Palms “Class A” share issued to the Corona and his wife.


Prosecutors said they intend to prove that Corona’s The Palms share, which he first acquired in 2006, is not included in the assets he declared in the SALn under the “cash and investments” entry.


They said the club share, together with his huge bank deposits, is over and above the P2.5 million he declared as cash and investments in his SALN for the years 2006 to 2009 and P3.5 million in 2010.


Justice Secretary Leila de Lima also said house prosecutors had raised her possible appearance as witness before the impeachment court.


De Lima said no decision has yet been made, however, on the matter.


“There is no decision yet. When we met, they said there is a possibility that I might be called so we made initial discussions on the possible parameters of my testimony but they said they will decide, and once they decide they will ask for the issuance of a subpoena,” De Lima said. “If subpoenaed yes I will, I need to appear if I’m summoned,” she added.


De Lima is facing administrative charges before the Supreme Court (SC) for her refusal to honor a restraining order issued by the high court invalidating the hold departure order she issued preventing former president Gloria Arroyo.


Arroyo at the time was not yet facing criminal charges. Subsequently the SC lifted the restraining order after a valid criminal complaint was filed against Arroyo by prosecutors.