Corona, Basa families kiss and make up at Senate

MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona’s wife Cristina and her Basa relatives ended their decades-old feud and reconciled at the Senate impeachment court as the trial of her husband drew to a close yesterday.

Cristina approached her relatives in the Senate VIP Gallery at around 3 p.m. while the trial was on break. Her daughter Carla followed her.

Among the Basas present in the gallery were Cristina’s aunt Cecilia and cousins Ana, Isabel, Francesca and Erik – children of her uncle Jose Maria Basa III.

The Basas later approached the Chief Justice at the witness stand and embraced him.

Gallery observers clapped when they saw the family in tears and hugging each other for several minutes. One relative was seen stroking Cristina’s arm.

Some observers were also in tears when they saw the family reunited.

“We are happy. We have been praying for them everyday,” a friend and classmate of Cristina told the media.

The dramatic reconciliation was mediated by Cristina’s friend Baby Nebrida, who disclosed having taken this initiative after consulting first with both sides.

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL: Cristina Corona poses with members of the Basa family at the Senate yesterday.

The Basa children refused to make a statement after yesterday’s trial.

Carmen Basa got dizzy after the media crowded around them. They stayed for several minutes inside the session hall while avoiding television crews. They requested the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to escort them out of the session hall.

The Basas had disputed the Chief Justice’s testimony on Tuesday that their deceased father caused the long-running dispute within their family.

Corona called Jose Basa III a “spoiled brat” and “unemployed” in his testimony last Tuesday.

An emotional Carmen said Corona “maligned” and “slandered” the name of her dead father in a press conference the next day at the Senate.

The Basas arrived from the US last week to witness the testimony of Corona. Bitter words had been exchanged during the trial and in press conferences.

The Basas and the Coronas have been fighting over properties left behind by grandmother Rosario Guidote vda de Basa.

The Basas were involved in the trial because Corona said a significant portion of the P80 million of his bank deposits came from the P34.7 million sale of the Basa-Guidote property in Manila in 2001, which he supposedly held in trust. – Helen Flores