BIR to get Corona waiver from Senate

Manila, Philippines -  Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile approved yesterday the release of a copy of ousted chief justice Renato Corona’s bank waiver to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), which is looking at a possible tax evasion case.

Senate Secretary Emma Lilia-Reyes said Enrile instructed her to provide the BIR a copy of Corona’s waiver as requested by the tax agency.

In his last appearance before the Senate impeachment court, Corona submitted an unconditional waiver on the secrecy of his bank deposits and challenged other officials to sign their own waivers. 

Senators voted overwhelmingly to remove Corona from office for betrayal of public trust by failing to fully declare his wealth – including $2.4 million and P80 million in seven bank accounts – in his annual statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs).

Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada confirmed that the BIR had asked for a copy of Corona’s waiver from Enrile’s office.

But Enrile appealed to authorities not to pursue tax charges against Corona, saying he had already suffered enough during his impeachment trial. 

“If what the BIR intends to do is to match his tax returns with his declarations in his SALN, I think it should not continue. He’s already down,” Estrada said in Filipino. 

Asked to comment on the possible filing of illegal wealth or even plunder case against the ousted chief justice, Estrada said “that’s the call of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. I cannot do anything about it,” he said. 

He added that Corona’s removal from office and his permanent disqualification from any public position are enough punishments for the former chief magistrate.

In an earlier interview, Corona’s lawyer and spokesman Tranquil Salvador III said the ousted Supreme Court chief had not waived his right to defend himself from possible filing of other charges against him.

Salvador said that he was already leaving it up to Corona to decide on issues concerning possible tax problems because the former chief justice’s impeachment was his main concern. Corona’s first offer to sign a waiver – made on May 22 – was on condition that Sen. Franklin Drilon and the 188 congressmen who voted to impeach him be required to sign their own waivers.

But in his next appearance, which turned out to be his last before the impeachment court, Corona said he was releasing his waiver in the spirit of transparency and accountability.

In his waiver, Corona also said he was allowing concerned agencies including the BIR, Anti-money Laundering Council, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Land Registration Authority (LRA) to disclose information on him and his wife.

“I, Renato C. Corona, hereby waived my right of confidentiality and secrecy of bank deposits under R.A. 1405 as amended and authorized all banking institutions to disclose to the public any and all bank documents pertaining to all peso and foreign currency accounts under my name,” Corona’s waiver read.

“I am likewise authorizing the clerk of court of the SC en banc, with permission from the SC en banc, to immediately release to the public my SALN for the years 2002 to 2011,” Corona said. 

Where are the millions? 

For Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, chairman of the Senate committee on banks and financial institutions, Corona should still be made to account for his staggering dollar and peso deposits after his removal from office.

Osmeña said he believes Corona had already moved the money to offshore accounts.

“That $2.4 million? It’s not there anymore, believe me, you ask Corona,” he said.

“Well, if I were him and natural human being, it will be in Hong Kong. If I were him, a natural human reaction, I’ll send it to Hong Kong already or Singapore,” Osmeña said. “How will we dig that up now?” 

Hong Kong is known to have stricter bank secrecy laws. 

Asked how authorities can make Corona account for the suspicious deposits, he said it’s up to the administration to find ways.

He said it’s now almost impossible for the government to recover the money even if it’s found to be ill-gotten. 

“Unless he comes back, within the goodness of his heart, to give it to us. No he won’t. That’s human nature,” Osmeña said.

“I think it would be to the interest of the administration to pursue the investigation, what was this exercise for?” he said.

He also said government agencies, including the BIR, do not even need Corona’s waiver to pursue charges against him. 

“You don’t even have to use the waiver because in an investigation, there are more laws you can use. You see the SALN is limited only to (records) until Dec. 31 of each year. But the anti-graft law, other laws that fall under the criminal code, there are many,” Osmeña said.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, during the impeachment trial, confronted Corona over his failure to fully disclose his wealth.

“If it’s legitimately acquired, then what’s wrong with declaring it?” Pangilinan asked Corona.

But the former chief justice only reiterated his explanation that the $2.4-million need not be declared because it was covered by secrecy laws under Republic Act 6426 or the Foreign Currency Act.

The P80 million, he claimed, was commingled funds of his family, the Basa Guidote Enterprises Inc., and his mother’s Coronado Fund.