The Senate, sitting as the impeachment court, on Monday granted the request of the House prosecutors to subpoena to the trial representatives of the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), as well as documents related to the alleged bank accounts of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.
"The majority votes to grant the prosecution's request for subpoena to the responsible officers of the PSBank and the BPI to testify and bring and/or produce before the court documents on the alleged bank accounts of Chief Justice Corona only for the purpose of the instant impeachment proceedings," said the Senate resolution, as read by Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III.
The prosecution had earlier filed separate subpoena requests for the managers of BPI Ayala branch and PSBank Katipunan branch, who will be made to testify on Article II of the impeachment complaint, which accuses Corona of failure to properly disclose all his assets in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).
The Senate ordered two bank representatives to appear before the impeachment court on Wednesday, February 8.
The BPI executive was also asked to bring with him:
original and certified true copies of Corona's account opening form and other documents of his 1445-8030-61 account,
monthly bank statements from December 31, 2005 to 2010
On the other hand, the PSBank executive was asked to bring with him original and certified true copies of the account opening form and other documents for the following bank accounts allegedly in the name of Corona and the documents showing the balances of the same from December 31, 2007 to 2010:
089-19100037-3
089-13100128-6
089-12101735-8
089-12101959-3
089-12102012-2
089-12102168-1
089-14100712-9
089-14100746-9
089-14100814-5
089-12101195-7
The defense panel had earlier objected to these requests, saying the testimonies of the bank officials are meant to prove paragraph 2.4 of the impeachment complaint, which had already been disallowed by the Senate.
Paragraph 2.4 of the Articles of Impeachment states that "Respondent is likewise suspected and accused of having accumulated ill-gotten wealth, acquiring assets of high values and keeping bank accounts with huge deposits. It has been reported that Respondent has, among others, a 300-sq. meter apartment in a posh Megaworld Property development at the Fort in Taguig. Has he reported this, as he is constitutionally-required under Art. XI, Sec. 17 of the Constitution in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN)? Is this acquisition sustained and duly supported by his income as a public official? Since his assumption as Associate and subsequently, Chief Justice, has he complied with this duty of public disclosure?"
On Monday, lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas said they intend to appeal the decision, citing laws that protect bank records from scrutiny. Senator Francis Escudero, however, said that only senator-judges can appeal the court's rulings.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding officer, said that they have yet to decide whether the bank records would be admitted as evidence.
"Whether those evidence subpoenaed are admissible evidence given the fact that they appear in violation of existing laws is a question that must be resolved in due course," he said.
He specifically cited the Republic Acts 1405 and 6426.
"Nobody is immune from that penalty [under these laws] whether you are a member of the court," said Enrile. "Whether the appearance of this will impair its admissibility as an evidence is something that this court cannot at the moment resolve this issue." - KBK, GMA News
source:gmanetwork.com
