Aftermath

Enrile cites blunders of the
Defense Panel

Senator Enrile stated the following reasons why the majority of Senator judges voted for conviction of SC Justice Renato J. Corona.

1. Presenting the Ombudsman as a "hostile" witness in the mistaken belief that she did not have proof of Corona having much money.
   
   
2. The disrespectful walk-out by Corona in his first day of appearance in the trial proper.
   
   
3. The conditions imposed by Corona on his offer to sign a waiver,for authorities to check his bank accounts, on Sen. Franklin Drilon and the 188 congressmen who signed the articles of impeachment to sign a similar waiver.
   
   
4. The sale of Basa-Guidote Enterprises Inc. (BGEI) shares worth P34.7 million to Corona’s daughter Carla Castillo for a measly P28,000, a fact which came out from the cross-examination of a former sheriff.
   

But the most telling argument for his conviction came from the mouth of Corona! He inadvertently admitted on his second and final day of appearance that he had 2.4USDollars and 80.7 million in banks which was undeclared in his SALN.

Supreme Court Chief Justice position is vacant.

The high office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has become vacant immediately after the Senate Impeachment Court pronounced CJ Renato Corona guilty on Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment.

Senate sends Corona's 'notice of conviction' to SC.

Excerpt:

The Senate on Wednesday has sent the “notice of conviction” of Chief Justice Renato Corona to the Supreme Court. The notice was received by the Office of the Clerk of Court since the Court Administrator reportedly told the messenger that his position is co-terminus with the chief Justice.

Corona was the first Chief Justice in the country’s history that underwent impeachment trial as well as the first Philippine official to be booted out of office after being found guilty of an impeachable offense.

And erstwhile CJ Renato Corona has accepted the judgment of the Impeachment Court.
Corona: I accept the verdict..

The presiding officer of the Impeachment Court has warned the SC (Supreme Court) not to reverse
the conviction of Corona as it may lead to a CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS.
JPE warns SC against reversing guilty verdict.



But apparently this does not stop the head of the defense panel Serafin Cuevas to entertain the thought of going to the SC.
Cuevas: Going to SC an option.
This is a waste of time for all the people. A historic decision has been made, and Cuevas should learn to accept this momentous decision. It just wont work anyway, and he is looking for TROUBLE!


Meanwhile the Palace is now scouting for a replacement, hopefully not a rubber stamp CJ!
Palace scouting for CJ replacement
I will be a little alarmed if Sen. Franklin Drilon will be chosen. He is a very loyal ally of the president and an active member of the LP(Liberal Party), and that fact may rub off on some members of the Judicial Bar Council which will present a formal list of candidates to the president.

This is just the start of troubles for Corona!
Tax, wealth raps eyed vs Corona

One good effect is that the Supreme court, meeting en banc, with Justice Antonio Carpio as acting Chief Justice, has ordered that SALN of all judges and justices be published (freely available, upon valid request).

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?philstar: SC orders full SALN disclosure of justices, judges

Already, Enrile has said that Pinoy should not hire an outsider, and Sen. Escudero stated that Justice Carpio should not have accepted the temporary position of Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court out of delicadeza. It is our opinion that the senators are saying out of their field. Let the SC still function and give free reign to President Noy to pick a SC Justice. Whatever happens, Filipinos should be alert and aware of what is happening.



Palace is scouting for CJ replacement. Among the names floated are Sen. Frankline Drilon, BIR Commisioner Kim Henares, Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza.

So what is left? We will be waiting for the Judicial Bar Council to convene.

Corona found guilty!, hoisted with his own petard, or trapped on his own explanations.

A momentous historical moment has occurred today! A mighty and highly placed public official, no less than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been found guilty of not declaring dollar and peso account in his SALN. Sweet justice, if a lowly government court interpreter can be dismissed for not declaring her market stall in her SALN, how much more a man expected to be of the best moral character, probity and impeccable credentials? Justice has triumphed and we hope that the cancer of graft and corruption will be gradually eliminated from the sickest man of Asia.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been found guilty, today May 29, 2012, by a vote of 20-3, of not declaring his dollar accounts and cash deposits in his SALN, a violation of RA 6426. The senate did not value much his reasons, the interpretation of CJ Corona of RA-64326 as giving absolute confidentiality of dollar deposits, and for the comingling nature of his peso deposits. The main information itself came from CJ Corona! when he declared he has 2.4 million US dollars and 80 million pesos. Why did Corona chose to reveal these damning facts? He wanted to justify his ability to afford the many properties he bought. Unfortunately, he did not present any documents in his opening statement on the last day of witness presentation!

Unfortunately for him too, the testimony of the hostile witness for defense, the Ombudsman, made an explicit presentation of his bank account transactions, which contributed to his admission that he has bank deposits in order to mitigate the damaging repercussion of the Ombudsman's revelations. In other words, Corona fell into his own (defense) trap, "hoisted with his own petard", as Shakespear may say. So much for the brilliance of the lead defense council Serafin Cuevas, a former law professor, a former SC justice himself, but still esteemed by his former students.

We are amused by the usual antics and theatrics of Senator-Judge Miriam Defensor Santiago. She, and senators Bongbong Marcos, and Joker Arroyo casted the not-guilty votes.

Thank God, the Impeachment trial hearings has ended with a judgement tomorrow!

We are relieved that the impeachement trial is soon to end with a decision expected tomorrow. Yet we are alarmed at some developments:

Rumours are circulating that defense will appeal any decision to the Supreme Court, of all places!, in case a verdict of "Guilty" will be pronounced tomorrow. This is a waste of time. Only the Senate is allowed to hold impeachment trial, its decision is final. It will provoke a real constituional crisis if Corona's camp will use the Supreme Court as a safe refuge of scalawags in government, which may include the highest officials of the land, from presidents to supreme court justices.

On the other hand, there is news that a second impeachment trial will be prepared by the lower house with lessons learned from current impeachment trial in case a verdict of "Not Guilty" will be given. We hope that the lower house will wait for a few years. This will be too much to muster for the common Filipinion people.

Give the people a break! Respect the decision of the Senator-judges!


For more informaiton.

Speech by Feliciano Belmonte, for the prosecution.

Come on! Is the Chief Justice trying to pool wool over our eyes?

Here is an effective photo from one of my FB groups.

Raissa Robles' Humor in the Impeachment Trial has more of these GMA/Corona situation comedies.

Its Friday May 25, and it is a make or break for Renato C. Corona

The damage caused by Corona's dramatic walk-out may be lessened today if Corona, who as Cuevas promised in [1], is determined to be present today May 25 at his impeachment trial (day 42).This in spite of doctors advising him not to do so. Why? His defense counsel has told him it is quite crucial for him to be present. to be able to say he is sorry and to face a cross-examination from the prosecution panel.

Now the latest news[2] is that Corona is still in the ICU of Medical city, Thursday night. Maybe he needs to be wheeled dramatically into the Senate room. Real impartial judges will not be impressed of course.

Analysts have stated [3] that Corona had severely weakened his case by offering a conditional waiver and walking out.

We wish Corona the best of luck. and we fervently hope he will not suffer a fatal heart attack while on the dock.






Further reading:

[1] Corona to apologise to Imneachment Court




[2] Corona still in ICU, lawyers say.




[3] abs-cbnnews: CJ missed opportunity after waiver, walkout.

The waiver in the SALN of government employees and officials

I have been signing SALNs for many years and I really dont give much thought to it since I am just an empoyee with less that a million peso worth of assets and am without administrative responsibilities (SALN applies to both employees and officers!). In the Corona impeachment trial, Corona dramaticaly presented a conditional waiver to allow any authorized govt agencies to look into all of his bank accounts, including dollar accounts and promised that he will submit it provided 188 reps and Sen. Franklin Drilon also make a similar waiver. However, the current SALN already includes such waiver for the Ombudsman! Here is the pertinent waiver which we sign every year while employed by the government.

I hereby authorize the Ombudsman or his duly authorized representative to obtain and secure from all appropriate government agencies, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, such documents that may show my assets, liabilities, networth, business interests and financial connections, to include those of my spouse and unmarried children below 18 years of age living with me in my household covering previous years to include the year I first assumed office in government.

IBP head now sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

Source:IBP president: Corona should quit if....

To quote:

Roan Libarios, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, told Rappler that Corona will "lose his moral ascendancy" if he does not submit to cross-examination.

One nitpick is on the "moral ascendancy" part. There was no genuine display of such by the CJ in the impeachment trial. He let the defense panel work without much feedback on his part. Our bigger nitpick is on his condition, that Corona should appear today. Really we wanted an earlier statement from the IBP that Corona should resign, in fact earlier, even before his amazing appearance as a defense witness in the Senate yesterday, May 22, 2012.

Why? The IBP is a body of lawyers, recognized by the Supreme Court. It should of course not be political, but we fear it has been politicalised by the Chief Justice who was instrumental in installing Libarios as IBP head. (Is there now an IBP governor for Western Visayas region?)

Really, Roan Libarios should resign from the IBP too, NOT waiting for his patron Renato Corona to resign from the Supreme Court.

And we hope that "Utang na loob" and political machinations will be a thing of the past regarding the Supreme Court and the IBP.

We believe that one by one, supporters of the Chief Justice will be abandoning him one by one. We do not dwell on who are they.We should be generous to those who have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, those who truly repented.

Corona now doing a GMA.

‎"You cannot convict me because we are all guilty. No one can do right because we are all evil.”

Guess who said that? None other than the star accused in his impeachment case.

Just for laughs, we have this profile pic from Facebook. It is a "sin" to have fun on the misery
of other people, even if self-inflected on their part.


And we have this more serious news item

Corona in ICU! for possible Heart Attack!-sc spokesman


Corona might turn to be a "hanging witness" if he refuses to be cross-examined! Senate President and presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile has warned the defense team that Corona’s testimony would be stricken off (expunged) from the court records, and the senator-judges would make a decision on the basis of previous evidence if the magistrate does not return to the impeachment court on Wednesday, (today!), for cross-examination.

Enrile was outraged when Corona capped his lengthy opening statement by saying, “And now the chief justice of the Republic of the Philippines wishes to be excused,” before briskly walking out of the Senate hall despite the Senate President’s appeal for him to come back because he had not yet been discharged.


The impeachment trial has surely unmasked Corona as an ordinary scheming mortal. Too bad he has blocked all routes to a more dignified exit from the supreme court.

Remember folks, it all started with him accepting the midnight appointment as Chief Justice from the previous scandal ridden president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

An amazing court appearance and performance from the Chief Justice?

Finally, CJ Renato Corona, faced the impeachment court, and stated his innocence, and made a strange accusation that the Aquino administration is influenced very much by leftist advisers! Yet after almost 3 hours of presentation (without cross-examination), stunned the country by signing a waiver before the court that would authorize the overseers of the financial system, like the BIR, AMLC, the SEC, and LRA, to disclose to the public any and all information pertaining to his assets. He however included a proviso that all 188 signatories of his impeachment complaint together with Sen. Franklin Drilon, sign the same waiver also before he would submit it.
The nerve! Corona is the one on trial here! Certainly, Corona is being provocative when he should be defensive.

So far he has not made a convincing explanation of the source of his dollar funds, or for the discripancy between


The Chief Justice then proceeded to walk out of the Senate courtroom, without being PROPERLY DISCHARGED, incurring the ire of the presiding judge-senator Enrile. The latter ordered that all exits of the Senate building be closed. Later the Chief Justice was shown in a wheel chair and someone explained that that he suffered from low blood pressure and the defense panel promised he will appear on the stand again on Wednesday.

The waiver is not important now. It is superfluous since by law any transactions involving a lot of money is AUTOMATICALLY reported to the AMLC, the anti-money laundering council.

Corona is on the path of self-destruction. Perhaps the prosecution does not have to ask him much, except for the source of his dollar accounts.Further, he may be guilty of embezzlement of the Basa Guidote corporate money!

The mind-boggling and ass-shaking estimated wealth of the Chief Justice

I did not like to write this, this is not a personal attack, but an outrage on the continued arrogance of controlled silence, aside from the usual denials, on the part of the Chief Justice's unexplained wealth and hidden dollar accounts. Hidden in the sense that he has to state unequivocably under oath in his current Impeachment trial, that he has or has none!

No wonder, he was given an nickname of TJ, initials for Thief Justice by some amazed followers of his impeachment trial.

The information on his unexplained wealth is embodied on the report submitted by the Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. For more information, please visit rappler.com: CJ’s unexplained wealth is P677-M—Ombudsman report

The amazing amount in excess of half a billion pesos is not incommensurate with his declared government salary and renumerations and benefits but highly anomalous and scandalous. Moreso, the

Yet, damage control is being done by the defense. Already they claim that Corona only owns only a few (only four) dollar accounts and not more than 50(published is 82), a claim which flies in the face of Corona's denial that he has none.Further, by admitting that Corona does have dollar accounts, they have to admit that Corona has not declared them in his SALN.

We will see if the CJ can wiggle out of this one!


CJ Corona appearance on Tuesday will be eagerly awaited by the nation.

Further reading:

1. raissa robles: interesting dollar movements in AMLC report
   
   
2. Defense to narrow number of CJ accounts from 82 to 4.
   

Some people just dont want Pres. Aquino to succeed in anti-corruption drive.

Lets us be directly blunt about it. It is all about the impeachement case of the Chief Justice, Renato J. Corona, a man who blocked Pres. Aquino’s plan to investigate and prosecute his predecessor Gloria Macapagal Arroyo whose regime was tainted by various scandals: the Hello Garci scandal (cheating in 2004 elections), NBN/ZTE scandal, 2007 bribes (payola) to congressmen and governors,fertilizer scam (to the tune of P725+ Million!!! ), Jose Pidal bank accounts(involving the First Gentleman), North Rail project and others.

The reason for Renato Corona's court blocking ,in the form of TRO, the anti-corruption drive in the form of a Truth Commision was that the campaign was targeted specifically against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and not against other past presidents, in the guise of “equal protection under the Law”!

Flying against the face of this flimsy excuse of “justice” is the fact that Corona was a midnight appointee by the previous president, an act interpreted by critics as a safety mechanism for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to use the Supreme court as a last refuge against potential charges and borne out by subsequent events, in the issuance of speedy TROs against government agencies actions. It is just a tit-for-tat that the allies of the president did a lightning quick impeachment proceeding in the House of Representatives.

The sad thing is that Corona equates himself with the Supreme Court, which he is not! Now that he is impeached (but not convicted), several astounding information abut the man at the helm of the Supreme Court has come out:

1. He (Corona) has embellished his academic records in the Supreme Court website,
   
   
2. Corona has obtained properties whose total assessed values is incommensurate with his government salary.
   
   
3. Corona has dollar accounts (not a crime) under his name, but has "forgotten" to declare them in his SALN. The Ombudsman, whom Corona has shown “no love lost”, is preparing a possible second impeachment case, this time with the aid of other government agencies such as AMLAC.
   

Corona had shown and continues to show himself in the same mold as the previous Ombudsman, Merceditas Gutierrez. Now, some critics lament the intensity of Congress and the Office of the President in “ganging up” on a coequal branch, the Supreme Court. No, they are not fighting the Supreme Court but is trying to remove an unfit, unethical (who pointed a gun to an old caretaker) person at the reins of the Supreme Court. If they dont accept this simple fact, they are in effect lovers of corruption, and are against the current President Aquino drive to stamp out or greatly diminish corruption in government.

What the hell was the Chief Justice thinking when he opened 82 dollar accounts?

Here is the latest fantastic, incredible development in the impeachment trial of the Chief Justice. According to information the Ombudsman, Conchita Carpio-Morales, has obtained from AMLAC, (Anti-Money Laundering Act Council),
Corona had a mind boggling 82 dollar acounts and that the CJ (Chief Justice) had performed 705 tansactions involving peso and foreign currency accounts.


What the hell What the hell was the Chief Justice thinking when he opened 82 dollar accounts?
For a critical reporting on this aspect, please click on http://www.rappler.com/nation/5354-corona-had-82-dollar-accounts-amlc-report

It now remains for Corona to undo the damage caused by a blatant lie that he does NOT hold foreign currency accounts. The amount should not be the issue here, but the fact that he did not declare it in his SALN. Even if he says later on that he was just a DUMMY, he has sullied the office of the Supreme Court. We expect the Chief Justice to be a man of probity, a man for all seasons, a man for others. We get a selfish, avaricious man at the helm right now.

Yet we are not suprised really. The current Chief Justice has an MBA degree and once worked in a bank. His pattern of lying should be enough for a wake up call to the Senate to order immediately a halt of the impeachement trial and declare Renato Corona unfit for the position of Chief Justice. Otherwise, the Chief Justice will be subject to a more humiliating public condennation. His heart is not in the administration of Justice but for his personal aggrandizement using his position to facilitate his legal heavy accumulation of personal riches.

No, Corona cannot use the Supreme Court anymore to strike out the Ombudsman testimony by issuing a TRO. In fact it was the defense panel who called on the Ombudsman to testify.

Corona's goose is cooked and he knows that. Let the end of Corona's's control of the Supreme Court be finished now!
The smoking gun, showing Corona's lapse of judgement has been fired at the credibility of Corona. What the hell are we waiting for?

Some thoughts on the dollar account of the Chief Justice

Doubts have been erased that the Chief Justice has a dollar account based on the analysis of published news and opinions. In fact the reason for its existence, that the chief justice dollar account is a deposit in trust is being floated around. Let us take a look at the definition of deposits in trust, from http://chestofbooks.com/finance/banking/Elementary-Banking-AIB/Trust-Deposits.html

Deposits made "in the name of one person, as trustee for another" are known as "trust deposits." This form of deposit is sometimes made in order to (1) arrange for the disposition of an estate after death without the use of a will or administration, (2) conceal from others information of financial status, or (3) increase deposits where a limit is set upon individual deposits

We are surprised at second putpose of trust deposit and that is to to conceal from others information of financial status.

Remember he is the Chief Justice Supreme Court. It seems unseemly and incongruous for his high stationed office to act like a dummy for someone else. What will happen if there are cases involving the person who really owns the money?

The Chief Justice Renato Corona's behavior is not befitting of someone holding such a high office. I personally dont want the Chief Justice to act as a dummy for someone else. This is a serious lapse of judgment and a serious breach of ethics on the part of the Chief Justice. If this ever happens in the USA, he will be immediately investigated and haunded by the Press. Such great difference provide an embarrassing illustration why the US is a great country so far, and the Philippines, which live up to its title as the "Sick man of Asia".

His service and loyalty it seems are for his friends and patrons, like the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and not for the impartial devotion to serve the ends of Justice for all.

China exposed as greedy and a bully!

Here is a snippet from Philstar May 3 issue:

China rejected again a Philippine invitation to bring the matter to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

Liu said China has full historical and jurisprudential evidence for its sovereignty over Panatag Shoal, noting that it is “completely in line with international law.”

Liu claimed the shoal is outside of the Philippine territory in accordance with relevant international treaties that set the territorial limits of the Philippines.

The spokesperson accused the Philippines of unilaterally misinterpreting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“Its (Philippines) claim of a 200-nautical miles of exclusive economic zones has impaired China’s territorial claim, which is in itself against international law. International rules are made jointly by all countries in the world and countries, big or small, should abide by them. We believe the public are able to tell right from wrong,” Liu said.

If China has strong legal claims, then by all means let the dispute be presented to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea. Refusal is a mark of bullying and only shows that China is only interested in the maritime riches surrounding the Panatag (Scarborough Shoals).

The Law of the Sea has I think preeminence over minor historical events which supposedly justify the claims of China.
On the one hand, the Philippines should have a stronger PERMANENT PHYSICAL presence in the shoals and should build a tower over the highest part.


Further reading:

• 
  China to Phl: Don't draw other nations into dispute