Did CJ Corona lie to his lawyers?

Did CJ Renato Corona lie or withhold information and facts from his defense lawyers about the extent of his banking activities? I hope he did not. But I do think he did lie or withhold information from his lawyers based on the testimonies of witnesses at the Impeachment Court Trial last Tuesday. Had the defense lawyers known the extent of the bank transactions of the of CJ from the beginning, they may have pursued a different strategy or course of action. They could have probably recommended the resignation of the CJ right then and there and possibly negotiate for leniency. Or placed the CJ at the witness stand with the assistance of professional experts in finance management at a time during the trial when the prosecution was perceived to be faltering and did not apparently have enough evidence against the CJ. This assumption, if true, would supplement, or even far outweigh all other factors or reasons why the CJ should quit his post and fade away from public service.

I believe now that the President’s wish to remove the CJ from office is not for revenge, not to control the other branches of government, not ego, not paranoia against those who served and became surrogates of the former President. It is a noble crusade to achieving good governance, morality and honesty in public service.

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Only the corrupt, inept and derelict officials and employees in government need fear Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for providing her with all the bank documents she needs in aid of prosecuting erring public officers.

The Ombudsman is vested by the Constitution and Republic Act (RA) 6670 with wide-ranging powers to do its mandate.

The AMLC, in fact, has no choice but to provide the Ombudsman with a record of suspicious bank transactions, including those pertaining to Corona’s purported $12 million spread out in 82 foreign currency accounts in five banks.

Section 15 of RA 6770 enumerating the Powers, Functions and Duties of the Ombudsman is very clear in this, specifically paragraph five which states that “The Ombudsman may request any government agency (like AMLC) for assistance and information necessary in the discharge of its responsibilities, and to examine, if necessary, pertinent records and documents.”

Thus, Ombudsman Morales was within her mandate to ask the AMLC and the AMLC was just doing its job of supporting the Ombudsman when it presented her with a 17-page document detailing Corona’s multi-million dollar transactions.

The Ombudsman has been cloaked with powers so much so that under Section 23 detailing its Investigative Powers, “the Ombudsman may (a) enter and inspect the premises of any office, agency, commission or tribunal; (b) examine and have access to any book, record, file, document or paper; and (c) hold private hearings with the complaining individual and the official concerned.”

Section 14 of RA 6770 even bars the courts, including the SC except when the latter is deciding on a purely question of law, from issuing any writ of injunction against the Ombudsman to delay its investigation.  

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The Upsilon Sigma Phi Alumni Association, Inc. is appealing to President Aquino to call upon law enforcement agencies to immediately conduct an investigation to look into the murder of Upsilonian Jay Soriano and make those responsible account for their crime. Atty. Leonard Jacinto “Jay” Soriano ’87 was killed by still unidentified assailants on May 10, who fired two shots into his car as he was leaving his office at the Housing & Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) in Quezon City. He was an arbiter at the HLURB.

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If you thought knitting was for unmarried aunts and teachers, think again. Topnotch business executives, socialites, business women, secretaries, couples, young men and teenagers, are doing knitting and crocheting, and are proud of it. This is attested to by Lilli de Leon, owner of Dreams Yarnshoppe at Glorietta 5, 3rd floor, a dainty boutique selling a large collection of yarns, needles and patterns for hobbyists of crochet, knitting, embroidery and cross stitch. Their work includes shawls, blouses and skirts, scarves, hats and bags, socks and footwear. One enthusiast advertised the ami-gurumi (Japanese stuffed toy) on the Internet, and in no time, she received orders from viewers. A guy from a call center is doing crocheted jobs for his officemates.

Lilli first opened her shop as Dreams Needle Arts and Crafts at Robinson’s Gallery in Ortigas in September 1991, the crafts she sold and taught embroidery and cross stitch, tatting, and hardener. “Many needlecraft stores have closed,” she says. “My store has survived, mainly because we are the only one giving lessons on needlecrafts.”

The most popular crafts these days are crochet and knitting, says Lilli, a business arts-marketing graduate of the UP-Diliman. Cross stitch remains a steady craft, what with patterns of pastoral scenes of famous painters Fernando Amorsolo and Manny Baldemor.

“The reason Dreams Yarnshoppe has survived is our giving free lessons to hobbyists and those who walk in to buy yarns and keep coming back for materials.” Hooked hobbyists form circles to talk about their needlecraft choices

A group of Japanese ladies meet regularly at one of their homes, compare notes and projects. “They’re very serious with their work,” says Lilli. They’re particularly good at hardangar, a kind of Norwegian embroidery cutwork.

Aside from Filipinos, Lilli’s customers and students are from ages eight to 88, and come from the US, UK, Canada, Cambodia, Russia, Chile, and Vietnam. One of the enthusiastic customers is Evelyn Lim-Forbes, general manager of Tai Ping Carpets. She has crocheted hats, shawls, sweaters and vests for her sons.

Lilli has conducted seminars and workshops on cross stitch and other forms of embroidery around the country under the sponsorship of DMC, a threadmaking company. DMC also gives graduation certificates to Lilli’s customers doing Manansala and Baldemor patterns.

This month she may have started a “mother’s day” promo. Someone who wants to take lessons (for a minimal fee of P600) can bring his/her mom or daughter or son for free lessons. If a mother enrolls, her daughter or son’s lesson is free.

Those interested in needlecraft may call Lilli at 0917 880 3327, or 856 0741. Her e-mail is [email protected].

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My e-mail: [email protected]