Upon the request of the House prosecution team, the Senate has directed Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and at least six others to appear this week at the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
The prosecution will present Henares who was subpoenaed to bring the original and certified true copies of the annual income tax returns (ITRs) of Corona (from 1992 to 2010), his wife Cristina (from 1992 to 2010), his daughter Carla (2000-2010), his son-in-law Constantino Castillo (2000-2010), his son Francis (2005-2010) and his other daughter Charina (2005-2010).
Also scheduled to testify this week are the following:
- Personnel officer of the Office of the Vice President (with copies of Corona’s SALN from 1998 to 2000);
- Giovanni Ng, Megaworld Corp. finance director (with documents related to The Bellagio properties of Corona and his wife and to The Mckinley Hill property of his daughter Charina);
- Lourdes and Aniceto Bisnar Jr. of the Fort Bonifacio Development (with documents related to Unit 1902 of the Spanish Bay Tower at Bonifacio Ridge in Bonifacio Global City and to all units in the building sold in 2005);
- Grace Evangeline Manankil-Sta. Ana and Nerissa Josef, representatives of Community Innovations Inc. (with documents related to all units in The Columns on Ayala Avenue corner Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, sold in 2004);
- Rogelio Serafica of Burgundy Realty Corp. (with documents related to all units in Burgundy Plaza on Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City, sold in 2003); and
- Jamie Eloise M. Agbayani, president and CEO of Camp John Management Corp. (with the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth [SALNs] of Cristina Corona).
The impending disclosure of the ITRs and other tax records of Corona and members of his family has sent shivers down the spine of the country’s chief magistrate, according to Quezon Representative Erin Tañada, one of the spokespersons of the prosecution team.
“The Chief Justice could be very nervous about what will happen once Commissioner Henares reveals his tax records and that of his immediate family members,” Tañada said.
He said this was the reason Corona had ordered his legal counsels to block plans by the prosecution panel to make public these documents as evidence in his impeachment trial.
Marikina City Representative Miro Quimbo said Corona’s tax records were vital to proving his ill-gotten wealth as alleged in Article 2 of the impeachment case filed against him.
“We expected the defense panel to block this new damaging evidence against the Chief Justice because they don’t want the public to realize that he might have amassed wealth that he cannot justify legally,” Quimbo said.
“If he has nothing to hide then he should allow the prosecution to present his tax records without delay and objection,” he added.
The prosecution alleged that Corona had acquired several properties which he failed to declare in his SALNs since 2002.
Out of proportion
Quimbo said that a comparison of Corona’s net worth declarations with his land and condominium purchases showed that the acquisitions were “grossly out of proportion” to his lawful income.
Through BIR records, Quimbo said the prosecution would prove at the very least that Corona’s tax payments did not match the information he declared in his SALN.
With the appearance of Henares in the trial, Quimbo said he expected the defense panel to pursue the same strategy it employed when it failed to prevent the presentation of Corona’s SALNs and the titles and deeds of sale to the properties he either failed to include or did not correctly declare in his SALNs.
“The ill-gotten wealth is clearly alleged in the articles of impeachment. Any lawyer that you talk to would say that the amassing of ill-gotten wealth is in the body of Article 2,” Quimbo said.
He said that based on the SALNs alone, there was an obvious attempt on the part of the Chief Justice to suppress information pertaining to the sudden increase in his wealth.
“Time and again, not only did he undervalue but also failed to report some of his properties for several years if only to evade the prying eyes of the public and to hide his ill-gotten wealth,” Quimbo said.
Dilatory tactic
Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr., chief prosecutor, meanwhile, said that Corona’s plan to ask Senator Franklin Drilon to inhibit from the trial for allegedly favoring the prosecution was a dilatory tactic meant to stop the truth about the Chief Justice’s wealth from coming out.
“Senator Drilon was well within his right to ask for clarificatory questions to the witnesses. Why is the defense so afraid for the truth to come out? Why are they hiding behind technicalities?” Tupas told the Inquirer.
Chilling effect
Bayan Muna Party-list Representative Neri Javier Colmenares, another House prosecutor, said the defense call for the inhibition of Drilon was meant to put a chilling effect on the senators.
“It is a dangerous trap to pave the way for Corona’s filing of a petition in the Supreme Court for a temporary restraining order to stop the impeachment after his SALN was exposed and found questionable,” Colmenares said.
He said Enriqueta Esguerra-Vidal, the Supreme Court clerk of court, was subpoenaed to bring the SALNs to the trial that was why it was “reasonable and logical” for Drilon to ask her if she brought these documents.
Colmenares said transcripts of the exchanges between Drilon and Vidal would show that the latter had told Mario Bautista, the prosecution’s lead private counsel, that she did not bring the SALNs.
For initially lying in the impeachment proceedings, Colmenares said Vidal could be charged with perjury.