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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

CJ pleads not guilty, cries conspiracy

By Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) Updated January 17, 2012 12:00 AM
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Lead prosecutor Rep. Niel Tupas shakes hands with former SC justice and lead counsel for the defense Serafin Cuevas during the start of the impeachment trial at the Senate yesterday. MANNY MARCELO
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MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona yesterday pleaded not guilty to all the charges contained in the Articles of Impeachment filed against him during the start of his impeachment trial at the Senate.

Corona made the manifestation through his lead counsel, former Supreme Court (SC) justice Serafin Cuevas.

A few hours before the trial, Corona also accused three individuals of conspiring to oust him. He did not name names, but speculation focused on President Aquino, Transport and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas and SC Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

“We are making on record that we made him (Corona) appear in order to show our respect and his respect to this honorable body, and to show to the entire world that he’s not concealing anything. He’s prepared to enter his defense and convince the honorable body that he’s entitled to an acquittal on the charges against him,” Cuevas told the senator-judges.

“In addition, may we also put on record that he’s entering a plea of not guilty to all the charges embodied in the complaint for impeachment,” he added.

In a combative speech delivered to his supporters at the SC before going to the Senate to attend the first hearing of his trial, Corona alleged that the three are so determined to oust him that they even used government offices like the Land Registration Authority (LRA) to fabricate evidence for his impeachment.

“Those three have been conspiring to remove me from my post since, most importantly, I am a big stumbling block in their creation of a dictatorship,” the Chief Justice said.

He did not name names, but said the first of the three “wanted to block the distribution to the farmers of Hacienda Luisita,” obviously pertaining to Aquino, whom he earlier accused of taking issue with the high court’s unanimous ruling last November for the distribution of the 4,915.75-hectare sugar land estate owned by the President’s family in Tarlac to over 6,000 farm worker-beneficiaries.

Corona’s swift impeachment came barely a month after the SC handed down this order.

The Chief Justice had earlier accused the President of trying to build a dictatorship in his attempt to control the judiciary, which should be a coequal branch of the executive.

Corona described the second one involved in the conspiracy as “the one who easily wants to be vice president but lost in the 2010” elections.

The third, he stressed, is not far from the high court: “I am also a big hindrance to someone who have long desired to become chief justice.”

Corona was obviously referring to President Aquino’s losing running mate, now Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II, and his rival for the chief justice post in 2010, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

President Aquino had publicly criticized Corona and the Palace haf already started searching for a possible replacement for the Chief Justice.

“They are fabricating and concocting lies to force me to resign as chief magistrate,” Corona alleged.

The SC chief believes the Palace had a hand in the corruption charges against him, saying the list of his purported 45 properties came from the LRA, which is under the Department of Justice.

He said the list was falsified, reiterating that he only owns five properties and that his accusers fabricated documents and bloated the list to exaggerate charges.

“Many of those in the list are not ours. They are owned by people I don’t even know; some by parents of our children-in-laws,” he claimed.

Corona cited for instance the 1,750 square-meter lot in Marikina that his wife, Cristina, inherited from her parents.

He said the lot was subdivided into seven lots upon the advice of their broker in order to sell them at a higher price. Corona noted that the properties were sold in 1988 to a certain Demetrio Vicente.

“This is only one property which they listed as seven different lots and the LRA knows that we have already sold it in 1988,” the chief magistrate said.

He said some of the properties being linked to him were actually owned by certain individuals such as Felicia Castillo, Erlinda Castillo and Ismael Mathay Jr., whom he does not know personally.

On the other hand, the other properties mentioned by the House were owned or legally acquired by his daughter who is a successful physical therapist in the United States; his son-in-law who is a successful doctor in Medical City; and his in-laws.

Corona also lamented why his accusers even questioned the degree of Doctor of Civil Law that was conferred to him by the 400-year-old University of Santo Tomas.

“The UST is considered as the oldest university in the Philippines which is known for its excellence and high standards, thus it is difficult to finish a course because there are so many things that are being taught and should be learned,” Corona said.

He said that when this issue was clarified, his accusers then went back to the issue on his properties.

He again vowed to answer the allegations without surrendering his post.

“There is no more turning back,” he stressed, triggering loud applause and cheers from a crowd of supporters. “This battle has become bigger than me and family. Our enemies are indeed powerful and influential.”

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Corona said he would fight for his post and defend the judiciary “until death.”

“Only death. If they want to forcibly get me out of here, they would have to kill me,” he said when asked what it would take for him to resign.

Tit for tat

One of Corona’s lawyers, Jose Roy III, said they see no reason why the Chief Justice should be cited for violation of the Rules when he answered point by point the accusations of House prosecutors that he owned properties not declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN).

“It’s calling the kettle black. You insult me in public, I have the right defend myself. If somebody says I slept with you, aren’t you going to go out publicly and deny it? That’s exactly what we are talking about. If you don’t want to start things like these, don’t come out with false documents,” Roy said.

“He answered it point by point. Is it against the law for a man to defend himself? What do they want? They want him to just stand back while the minds of the public are being poisoned that these are all ill-gotten wealth?” he added.

Roy branded the allegations against Corona as hogwash.

“It’s untrue. We have nothing to do with the Chief Justice’s statement. He did it on his own. Personally, I am proud that he did it,” the lawyer added.

Roy was also not happy with what he described as “very unprofessional manner by which the litigation is being done.”

Roy was reacting to criticisms hurled by the House panel that Corona violated the impeachment rules when he answered point by point the allegations that he has 45 properties under his name. – Christina Mendez

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