Corona: 'My conscience is clean'

MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 2 - 3:24 p.m.) On the 40th day of his impeachment trial, Chief Justice Renato Corona finally took the witness stand in his own defense and prefaced his testimony to declare his conscience “clean” and, at one point, breaking down in tears.

“Mga minahamal kong kababayan, nandito ako sa impeachment trial upang tumupad sa aking pangako sa sambayanan upang magpaliwanag sa lahat (My beloved countrymen, I am here at the impeachment trial to fulfill my promise to the people to explain everything),” Corona said in a statement he read before he was sworn in to testify.

"Malinis po ang aking konsensya at ito po ay sinasabi ko sa sambayanang Pilipino. Uulitin ko po, malinis po ang aking konsensya (My conscience is clean and I am saying this to the Filipino people. I repeat, my conscience is clean)," Corona said in a statement he read before he was sworn in.

He also scored the Aquino administration, which he said used “the whole machinery of government against me, poured the whole force of the administration just to remove one person.”

"They broke all laws to fish for evidence against me. They attempted to pin me down via means that undermine our laws," Corona said.

He lamented that his trial had been marked by “anger, hatred, revenge against one person.”

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile interrupted Corona a number of times to ask how much longer he needed but allowed the magistrate to proceed.

And when private prosecutor Mario Bautista rose to object to Corona’s tirade against President Benigno Aquino III, Enrile cut him short and said the Chief Justice could continue.

Corona at times waxed defiant as when he said a senator he did not name threatened to expose him in public.

“Tingan natin (Let us see),” he said.

Corona also said there were three reasons why Aquino allegedly wants him ousted: Hacienda Luisita, the Tarlac sugar estate owned by the President’s family and which the Supreme Court ordered distributed to farmers; Aquino’s alleged desire to control all three branches of government; and the alleged takeover of government by the Left, as personified by presidential political adviser Ronald Llamas and his cohorts.

As Corona recounted what he said was his family’s “simple life,” he broke down in tears and Enrile declared a two-minute suspension.

source: interaksyon.com

$10M dollar accounts case preparation for new impeachment case vs Corona, defense says

MANILA, Philippines -- Chief Justice Renato Corona's defense lawyer said that the ill-gotten wealth filed against his client is a preparation for another impeachment case if the current one fails to convict the chief magistrate.

“The detractors of the Chief Justice are already laying the groundwork for another impeachment complaint. This is where the investigation by the Ombudsman is headed,” lawyer Ramon Esguerra said on Sunday in reaction to news reports that the Office of the Ombudsman is set to file a forfeiture case against Corona.

“As stated, the route of the investigation is another impeachment in the future based on alleged ill-gotten wealth that has been barred in the current one,” he said

Esguerra said that Corona has expected this kind of retaliation from the administration because the chief magistrate did not inhibit himself from the decision made on the motion for reconsideration filed on the Hacienda Luisita case.

“We have somehow expected it. The complaints were filed more that a month ago. The decision on the MR on Luisita came out last Tuesday, and trial resumes a week from now,” Esguerra told newsmen.

He said that “as stated, the route of the investigation on the alleged ill-gotten wealth against Corona is another impeachment in the future since the current one is marred with legal loopholes and lack of concrete evidence and testimonies that will merit conviction.”

“What is telling is that the complaints made no mention of $10 million but appear to be merely a mirror of accusations in the current impeachment,” he added.

“If i relate it to the law, RA 6770 and the Constitution, the detractors of CJ are already laying the groundwork for another impeachment complaint. It cannot be for alleged unexplained wealth for forfeiture under RA 1379. CJ is still holding his position and any legal action under this law will have to await the verdict in the current impeachment complaint."

source: interaksyon.com

Impeachment court asked to summon LRA Chief, Manila records custodian

MANILA, Philippines – Chief Justice Renato C. Corona through his lawyers has asked the impeachment court to summon the administrator of Land Registration Authority (LRA) and the records custodian of the City of Manila.

In separate motions filed Thursday by former associate justice Serafin Cuevas, the defense counsel sought the testimonies of Atty. Eulalio C. Diaz III and Ms. Annielyn C. Moises, the LRA’s administrator and the Acting Record Officer of the City of Manila respectively, to testify and bring documents in the impeachment trial of Corona on March 19.

Diaz’s testimony is expected to refute the claim of House prosecution panel that Corona owns forty-five properties as alleged in Article II, paragraphs two and three of the articles of impeachment filed against the chief magistrate.

If the defense’s request is granted, Diaz will be required to appear on March 19, 2012 and bring various documents, including a letter he wrote, dated January 10, 2012, addressed to Representative Niel Tupas enumerating the 45 properties allegedly owned by Corona.

The same subpoena, if approved by the impeachment court, will also require Diaz to bring Representative Niel Tupas Jr.’s letter request for information regarding Corona’s alleged properties.

The defense counsel also sought Moises’ appearance and testimony on the same date to prove that Basa-Guidote Enterprises Inc., transacted with the Government of the City of Manila involving the sale of a parcel of land. Corona’s defense lawyers also asked the impeachment court to compel Moises to bring original and certified true copies of a City Ordinance No. 7975 enacted by the City Council of Manila on December 21, 1999 regarding the expropriation of a 1,020.7 square meter of parcel of land located in Sampaloc, Manila.

The defense panel also asked the court to require Moises to bring original and certified true copies of City Ordinance No. 7976 enacted by the City Council of Manila on December 21, 1999 regarding the appropriation of the budget of the City of Manila for the Calendar year 2000, Deed of Sale dated March 26, 2001 between the City of Manila and BGEI involving a 1,027.7 sq.m., parcel of land located in Sampaloc, Manila which was purchased for the amount of P34,703,800.00, and a Letter from Atty. Emmanuel R. Sison dated November 28,2000 addressed to Basa-Guidote Enterprises Inc.

“The testimony of the Annielyn C. Moises, together with the above requested documents, will prove that a transaction between BGEI and the Government of City of Manila took place that resulted in the latter’s issuance of Check No. 188804 on June 5, 2001 for the amount of P34,703,800.000 paid to Cristina Corona in trust for BGEI,” the defense said.

source: interaksyon.com