MANILA, Philippines -- Lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona maintained on Monday that his properties had been properly declared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.
The two witnesses of the defense -- the registrar of deeds of Quezon City and the city assessor of Makati City -- testified on the condominiums and lots owned by Corona and his wife, Ma. Cristina, and the fair value and assessed market value of these properties.
Corona’s condominium unit in The Columns in Makati City had an assessed value of P726,000 at the time a Deed of Sale was executed in 2004.
Mario Badillo, Makati City assessor, said the property had a fair market value of P1.2 million since 2008, the same value Corona declared in his SALN.
The assessed value is used in computing real estate taxes, while the fair market value refers to the price agreed upon by the buyer and the seller.
For the Quezon City properties, Carlo Alcantara, registrar of deeds, said the Coronas sold their Ayala Heights property in 2010 for P8 million.
Their 1,200-square meter property in La Vista Subdivision, which they acquired in 2003, and had an assessed market value of P450,000 and a fair market value of P3 million, was sold to their daughter Ma. Carla Castillo in 2010 for P18 million.
On the other hand, the title to a condominium unit owned by the Coronas in Burgundy Plaza, which they acquired in 2003, had an annotation showing the parking lot does not belong to the couple, but they are allowed to use it.
source: interaksyon.com
