Final verdict on Corona out most likely on Tuesday

MANILA, Philippines - Did Chief Justice Renato Corona’s testimony over two days before the Senate impeachment court do enough to secure his acquittal?

This will be the question on the minds of the senator-judges when they go over the case and decide the fate of one of the most powerful men in the country.

After close to five months of hearing the arguments of the prosecution and defense panels, the impeachment court finally got to hear the testimony of the most important witness in the case, the Chief Justice himself.

Corona said a lot during his two days on the witness stand, including an opening statement that lasted for close to three hours.

In his two-day testimony, Corona tried to explain his cash assets in the banks, both dollar and peso and why most of these were not declared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

The Chief Justice made good on his promise to tell all during his stint on the witness stand although it was cut short due to his ailment and left at least two senators unable to question him.

For Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Corona was “in some ways” able to redeem himself from his “walkout” of the court last Tuesday with his return to the witness stand on Friday.

However, in spite of the revelations made Corona, particularly his admission of owning $2.4 million in dollar deposits and P80 million in four bank accounts, Lacson noted these were not verified at all.

While it could be considered as being highly irregular in a judicial proceeding, Lacson said he would go as far as conducting his own verification using sources not presented in court.

“I will spend the weekend reviewing his testimony against the marked documents and other pieces of evidence presented and testified to by the witnesses during the trial,” Lacson said.

“I need to counter check and verify even from sources outside the courtroom the truthfulness of his statements before the impeachment court. By Tuesday I should be ready to render the correct verdict,” he added.

Lacson said he would not think twice about voting for conviction if he finds out Corona’s testimony was false.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, for his part, said he was not satisfied with the answers given by Corona to the questions of some senator-judges when he took the witness stand for a second time last Friday.

Pangilinan said that it was “a clear attempt at damage control after a disastrous walkout last Tuesday” and that several of his answers were filled with inconsistencies.

Among the inconsistencies that Pangilinan saw in the Chief Justice’s testimony was the explanation given by his defense team that Corona secured an P11-million cash advance from the P34.7 million that he kept in trust for Basa Guidote Enterprises Inc. (BGEI) when it turned out that he had so much cash on hand in the banks.

“If he had tens of millions of pesos and millions of dollars in his account why did he have to borrow P11 million from Basa Guidote?” he asked.

Pangilinan also cited the testimonial and documentary evidence from Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) president Pascual Garcia III showing the withdrawal made by the Chief Justice of P36.7 million from three bank accounts and depositing the money in the same bank on the same day.

Corona denied this and according to Pangilinan, one of them has to be lying.

But to Pangilinan, Corona’s “admission that he excluded in his SALN over P180 million in both peso and dollar accounts under his name was the most damaging revelation.”

Defense lawyer Tranquil Salvador III, however, believes they were able to accomplish the reason for bringing Corona to the witness stand and to principally prove that there was no reason for him to declare his dollar savings in his SALN.

“There is likewise no reason to declare the amount of P80 million deposits in his name because the said amounts are only held in trust for Basa Guidote and other members of his family,” Salvador said.

“He was also able to answer all of the questions raised by the senator-judges, particularly the non-disclosure of certain bank accounts in his SALN. He also met the issues on transparency, good faith and motives for the institution of the impeachment complaint against him,” he added.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, who was unable to have his turn asking questions to the Chief Justice, said that there are still a lot of questions that were left unanswered.

Pimentel said he wanted to cite random transactions in the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report submitted to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and find out if Corona could recall any of them.

Pimentel also wanted to find out why some assets in his SALN, such as a car that was listed in 2002, was no longer declared the following year.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, who was also unable to ask questions, said he did not believe Corona was able to redeem himself with his testimony last Friday.

Osmeña said there were still many questions that needed answers and would now remain unanswered.

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said he would evaluate the testimony given by Corona as well as the evidence presented by both sides and “pray for guidance.”

Cayetano wanted Corona to back up his testimony with evidence so that he could make a proper evaluation of his story.

After Corona was dismissed as a witness on Friday, the prosecution and defense panels ended their presentations and rested their respective cases.

Now all that’s left is the final verdict of the senator-judges, which will most likely be handed down on Tuesday.

The defense panel has submitted its written offer of evidence while the prosecution panel filed its supplemental offer of evidence, all of which would now be reviewed by the senator-judges.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile declared the case submitted for final resolution by the impeachment court subject to the oral arguments of the two sides tomorrow.

Each side would be given one hour to deliver their oral arguments as their final effort to convince the senator-judges about the strength of their respective cases.