Category: Corona Impeachment

The high cost of a Corona conviction

Published by Ellen on April 19, 2012

Malacañang says the decision not to re-appoint Gus Lagman as Comelec commissioner has nothing to do with the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona presided by Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile. They should tell that to the Marines.

Following is the open letter of Lagman:

To my friends,

Without a new appointment, I cease to be a Comelec commissioner.

It is common knowledge among senators, Malacanang officials, and some members of the Lower House, that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Chairman of the Commission on Appointments, will reject the confirmation of my ad interim appointment as commissioner of the Commission on Elections. As such, Malacanang explained to me that they thought it best not to renew my appointment in order to save me from having to go through the ordeal of a confirmation hearing where I could be rejected. I truly appreciate their concern and, initially, I also thought that that would be best. However, after thinking about it the last few days, I am now convinced that I would much prefer to be given my day in court, i.e., go through the confirmation process despite the risk of a rejection.

Continue readingThe high cost of a Corona conviction

Ang imbistigasyon sa kayamanan ni Lapid at impeachment ni Corona

Published by Ellen on April 8, 2012

Lito Lapid impeachment — The judge is being investigated for alleged unexplained wealth

Dapat tutukan itong imbestigasyon tungkol sa kayamanan ni Sen. Lito Lapid na isinasagawa ng Ombudsman dahil kunektado ito sa impeachment in Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Senator Lapid’s millions subject of Ombudsman probe

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/28085/senator-lapids-millions-subject-of-ombudsman-probe

Akala kasi ni Lapid, dahil mahalaga ang boto niya sa impeachment, hindi siya gagalawin ng administrasyong Aquino basta ibigay lang niya ang kanyang boto sa pag-convict kay Corona.

Hindi natin alam kung tama nga ang akala ni Lapid. Dati kasi nakalusot siya.

Nagsumbong na dati si dating Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim kay Pangulong Aquino tungkol sa hindi kanais-nais na mga ginagawa daw ni Mark Lapid, anak ni senador na dating gubernador ng Pampanga at ngayon at hepe ng Philippine Tourism Authority . Ngunit sinabihan si Lim na huwag galawin si Mark dahil kailangan nila ang boto ni Lito lapid sa pagpasa ng batas na ipagpabliban ang eleksyun sa Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.

Great job by LRA’s Diaz

Published by Ellen on March 22, 2012

miriam and diaz — Miriam taking Diaz to the cleaners

To those who follow the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, Eulalio Diaz III, a classmate of President Aquino whom he appointed administrator of the Land Registration Authority, bungled his job, big time, in releasing a list of 45 properties credited to Corona.

But if you look at it from the point of view of the Aquino administration’s crusade against Corona and his benefactor, Gloria Arroyo, Diaz did a great job.

Imagine, with a phone call from Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupaz, head of the prosecution panel, he produced the list as his Jan 10, 2012 letter to Tupaz indicated: “Pursuant to your official request for the information relative to real estate properties registered in the name of Renato Corona et al, please find enclosed herewith certified true copies of titles registered in their names.”

Diaz related that he employed a “name search” in the LRA data base. He said that it was not only Renato Corona’s name that he punched in. He also searched for real estate properties with the name of Cristina Roco Corona, Francis Vincent Corona, Charina Corona, Maria Carla Corona Castillo and Constantino Castillo III.

47% of Filipinos think Corona is guilty while 5% believe he is innocent: Pulse Asia

Published by Ellen on March 20, 2012

Pulse Asia conducted a nationwide survey (1,200 respondents) on the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona from Feb.26 to March 9, 2012. Here are the highlights:

Forty-seven percent of Filipinos think Supreme Court Chief Justice Corona is guilty of the charges filed against him while five percent believe he is innocent. Forty-three percent are ambivalent as regards his innocence or guilt.

Almost half of the Filipino population (47%) is of the view that Supreme Court Chief Justice Corona is guilty, with 33% saying he is probably guilty and 15% being certain about his guilt. Meanwhile, 43% cannot say whether the government official is guilty or not. Practically the same percentages across geographic areas and socio-economic classes either think the Chief Justice is guilty (37% to 52%) or express indecision on the matter (43% to 48%). An exception is Mindanao where 54% say the Supreme Court Chief Justice is guilty and significantly fewer residents (31%) are undecided on the matter. On the other hand, only 5% of Filipinos believe Supreme Court Chief Justice Corona is innocent of the charges filed against him, with 4% saying he is probably innocent and 1% saying he is definitely innocent.

Ombudsman asks anti-money laundering body for Corona’s bank records

Published by Ellen on March 19, 2012

By Ellen Tordesillas, VERA Files

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has asked the Anti-Money Laundering Council for a copy of the records of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona’s bank deposits, including dollar accounts that are the subject of a temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court.

cj_2010saln — Waiver signed by Corona in his SALN

A highly placed source in the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed that Carpio-Morales sent the request after her office received a complaint seeking an investigation on Corona’s supposed ill-gotten wealth and possible money laundering. But AMLC Executive Director Vicente Aquino said he was not aware of such a letter in his office. “We have not received such request,” he said.

Aquino also said he refuses to talk about Corona’s assets in the media, calling it a “sensitive” issue.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council is composed of the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Insurance Commissioner and the Securities and Exchange Commission chairperson.

Mistake in Corona SALN without malice?

Published by Ellen on March 18, 2012

Corona's SALN and bank deposits from Interaksyon — Thanks to Interaksyon.com for the graph.

It seems that the strategy of the defense in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona ’s strategy is leading towards admission that yes, he made “inadvertent mistake” in the filing of his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth but that is not an impeachable offense.

This line of reasoning first surfaced in the March 14 hearing when Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano followed up on the point raised by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV that the issue is not whether the income of the chief justice was huge, or his wealth was earned legitimately or not, but whether what was stated in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth are true and accurate.

Cuevas replied, “Even assuming there is discrepancy or quite a difference in the making of the return which may be considered inaccurate, Your Honor, that is not a ground, in our thinking, for impeachment.”

Corona brought cousin Demetrio Vicente home in SC car after trial court testimony

Published by Ellen on March 14, 2012

Solar News caught on video defense witness Demetrio Vicente being ferried home by a Supreme Court vehicle after his testimony at the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona Tuesday evening.

Inquirer apologizes to Vicente for the series of photos of him that they used in their Wednesday issue.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/161513/inquirer-apologizes-to-vicente-readers

Solar News video clips showed Vicente inside the beige Toyota Camry 1996 model with a red plate numbered SEJ.953. A red plate means it’s a government vehicle.

Solar News reporter Albert Alicer and his crew took the video of the vehicle as it was leaving the Senate premises.

Dazed

Published by Ellen on March 13, 2012

Demetrio Vicente — Thanks to Manila Times for photo

If the purpose of the defense in the Corona impeachment trial in presenting its second witness, Demetrio Coronado Vicente, was to render the prosecution, the senator-judges and the public dazed, they succeeded.

I, myself, got dizzy trying to understand the somewhat disorganized business transaction between him and Maria Cristina Corona, wife of Chief Justice Renato Corona. I gave up when Presiding Judge Juan Ponce-Enrile asked him about tax declarations and Vicente replied, “I don’t know.”

To be fair, Vicente seemed sincere. Even guileless. And trusting.

It would be unfair to accuse him of knowingly acting as the Corona’s dummy. Maybe,taken advantaged of.

Vicente, second cousin of Corona, was testifying on his purchase of seven-parcels of land from Corona’s wife, Maria Cristina and her sister Miriam.

Corona rattles the closet

Published by Ellen on March 8, 2012

Corona on the offensive — On the offensive

Talks of meeting Aquino on TruthCom

By Evangeline de Vera,Malaya

Chief Justice Renato Corona yesterday accused a senator-judge in the impeachment trial of lobbying for a term-sharing agreement between him and Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

On Day 2 of his media blitz, Corona said Sen. Teofisto Guingona III called him up sometime in March 2011 to propose that he retire early so that Carpio could take over, being the next most senior magistrate in the high court.

Corona also talked of a lunch meeting with President Aquino sometime in July 2010, or shortly after the President was sworn into office by retired Justice Conchita Carpio Morales.

A life in the day of Juan Ponce Enrile

Published by Ellen on February 26, 2012

By Bibeth Orteza
Philippine Daily Inquirer

(Editor’s Note: The author set out to observe a day in the life of her husband’s uncle, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, as he presides over what is one of the most important trials in the country’s history—the impeachment of the Supreme Court Chief Justice. Graciously welcomed by her subject into his home and allowed to tag along to the trial, she came away with much more than just the details of a daily routine. The star of the moment obliged her with a sometimes tearful recollection of his life, enough material perhaps for a scriptwriter like the author and a director like her husband Carlitos Siguion-Reyna to turn into a riveting movie.)

8:15 a. m.

The man of the house is still in his bedroom. Sally Moneda, his cook and personal assistant of 26 years, reminds his close-in aide, Julius Gumban, not to take away the newspaper as “he has not read Bernas [constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ, who writes an opinion column in the Inquirer–Ed].”