Prosecution unfazed by questions on authenticity of bank docus

MANILA, Philippines - The prosecution panel is unfazed by the questions over the acquisition and authenticity of the bank documents they presented to the Senate impeachment court to support their request to subpoena the bank accounts of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III said what is more important is that PSBank president Pascual Garcia III has testified that the accounts they cited exist.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and PSBank are now conducting their respective investigations on how the documents were leaked to the public when these are supposed to remain within the premises of the bank and are confidential.

Garcia questioned the authenticity of the documents presented by the prosecution panel after he noticed material differences between the reproduced copies and the original copies that the bank has in its possession.

Some senators have also raised questions about the source of the prosecution’s documents and intend to get to the bottom of the leakage.

“When we requested for subpoena, we informed the impeachment tribunal that this came from an anonymous source. There was that disclosure. So it is hard to conclude at this point whether voluntary actions by individuals are illegal or not,” Tañada explained.

Misamis Oriental Rep. Reynaldo Umali told the impeachment court that an unidentified “short lady” handed over the documents to him at the Senate last week.

The Senate has already reviewed its closed circuit television camera footage but the results are yet to be announced by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

Due to strict prohibitions on disclosure of bank deposits, the source of the documents could face criminal liability.

Tañada said that the prosecution was not aware if the documents were authentic or not and so they just presented it to the Senate as part of its request for the subpoenas and left it to the court to determine if the request would be granted.

“It was given to one House prosecutor, we wouldn’t know if such document is genuine or not. Now that the accounts exist, the question is, who do we hold liable for the violation of the bank secrecy law,” Tañada noted.

He, however, does not believe there is liability on their part, considering that they were merely recipients and they disclosed to the Senate the fact that it came from an anonymous source.

“They (the Senate) made a decision (to issue a subpoena) and they can continue to do so later when the prosecution formally offers the evidence,” Tañada said.

Meanwhile, the Bantay Gloria Network (BGN) slammed yesterday the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court on the dollar accounts of the Chief Justice.

“The Corona-led Supreme Court has done it again. In the same way that it issued a TRO last November that would have allowed former president Gloria Arroyo to leave for abroad and therefore escape prosecution for plunder and electoral sabotage had she not been prevented from doing so by the Department of Justice, the Arroyo appointees in the high tribunal have once again made a mockery of justice in this country,” BGN spokesperson Risa Hontiveros said in a statement.

She said the TRO on Corona’s dollar deposits is an attempt to obstruct the impeachment court’s efforts to uncover the truth behind Corona’s undeclared multimillion bank deposits.

“Why does the Chief Justice keep at least five dollar deposits with one said to contain no less than $700,000 which is more than P30 million? How could he amass such a huge amount solely from his legitimate salary as a member of the High Court?” the former Akbayan representative asked.

Leah Navarro, co-convenor of the Black and White Movement, a member-organization of BGN, said the TRO “demonstrates (how) Corona’s defenders (try to) hinder the impeachment trial and prevent the Chief Justice’s inevitable removal from office for his massive amounts of undeclared and unexplained wealth.”

Navarro also called on the senator-judges to “disregard the TRO and continue to work at uncovering the complete truth” as mandated by the Constitution.

According to Navarro, the TRO should be “resolutely opposed by all Filipinos who seek the truth and want public accountability and the rule of law to prevail.” – With Perseus Echeminada