Many discrepancies in Corona assets, says BIR chief

BIR Commissioner Kim Henares. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

A statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of Chief Justice Renato Corona “bore” discrepancies because it did not contain the value of the properties he had acquired, Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares said Thursday.

Henares told the Senate impeachment court that Corona’s daughter, Carla, was incapable of buying an P18-million property in Quezon City in 2010, and another daughter, Ma. Charina, had not filed a single income tax return despite buying property from Megaworld.

“I noticed a lot of discrepancy in the SALN that I saw that the media gave me because I measure it in relation to the SALN I had to submit,” Henares said in response to a question by lead defense lawyer Serafin Cuevas, who did not pursue the subject further during his lengthy cross-examination.

But Senator Alan Peter Cayetano pressed Henares on the purported discrepancies.

“The most important thing in the SALN is the acquisition cost column. The SALN of the Chief Justice does not fill up the acquisition cost column,” Henares said, referring to the last column under the category of assets, and subcategory real properties in Corona’s SALNs.

“Based on the CARs (certificates authorizing registration), there were properties that should have been registered on a certain year, but these were not registered, but were registered subsequently. And there were properties that were not registered,” she added.

A look at Corona’s SALNs from 2002 to 2010 showed that columns on the kind, location, year acquired, mode of acquisition, assessed value, current fair market value of the properties he acquired were filled, but the column on the acquisition cost was empty.

Henares, however, conceded to Cayetano that the discrepancies could be explained. “It’s for him to explain,” she said of Corona.

Cayetano said: “I just want to point out that you have presumption of innocence. If you can show that there’s property not included here, but even if it’s not included, if you can’t show that based on your income you can buy it, then the presumption shifts toward ill-gotten wealth.”

Carla has little income

An hour earlier in her testimony on Day 7 of the trial, the BIR commissioner said that in 2009, Carla had a gross sale of P97,460, a taxable income of P8,476 and a tax due of P423.80.

The following year, she bought an P18-million, 1,200-square-meter property in La Vista subdivision in Quezon City, from her mother Cristina.

“The daughter has very minimal income, and therefore is not capable of buying property,” Henares said when asked by private prosecutor Arthur Lim what she found out about the CAR of the La Vista property.

Henares also said that Charina bought McKinley Hill property from Megaworld Corp. in 2008, but she had not filed an income tax return “to date.”

Henares said an Alpha list on tax deductions was not available in her case because she was registered only as a “one-time taxpayer.”

Under a lengthy grilling by Cuevas, Henares said she talked neither with President Aquino nor with the prosecution team on the specifics of testimony that she would give at the Senate impeachment court.

“I had no opportunity to talk to him,” she said of Mr. Aquino.

Not holding punches

Asked if there was an order from Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima to “crush” the Chief Justice, she said there was none.

When Cuevas remarked that she had been holding her punches on her upcoming testimony, Henares said: “Sir, I don’t hold punches. I only do my job. I’m a very professional person. Even if you’re my worst enemy, I’ll just do my job. If you’re complying…”

Cuevas cut her off, and told her she should not consider him her worst enemy, drawing laughter.

Henares admitted meeting in conference with House lead prosecutor, Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr., and private prosecutor Arthur Lim, and that she was only informed that she would bring the documents ordered subpoenaed by the impeachment court, and testify on their contents.

“We did not discuss the SALN. We discussed the CARs, and ITRs,” she said. She said she was shown a copy of the SALN by a media person on January 19. She said she was never asked by the prosecution if there were discrepancies in the SALN.

The prosecution tried to mark as evidence the CAR of the Corona couple’s club shares in The Palms Country Club Inc., but Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile stopped this after Henares failed to justify that such shares were also covered by CAR.

All too jumpy

Henares said she was given authority by the President to bring the ITRs of the Corona couple, their children and their children-in-law on January 20. She said she informed Purisima about the subpoena for her to appear in the Senate.

“You’re all too jumpy,” Enrile said, eliciting laughter after Lim objected to Cuevas’ contention that the authorization was issued by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, not by the President. Henares clarified this was issued by the authority of Mr. Aquino.

Tupas told the Philippine Daily Inquirer during a break in the trial Thursday that with the continued presentation of evidence on tax returns and property transactions of Corona and his family, “the burden shifts to the respondent with the prima facie presumption that the properties are illegally acquired.”

Asked to elaborate, Tupas said that the value of the purported properties were “manifestly out of proportion” with Corona’s income.

Cuevas told reporters earlier in the day that there was no basis in making a conclusion that Corona had amassed ill-gotten wealth.

He said papers presented so far were “documentary exhibits.”

“There must be identification and marking before it can be offered as evidence.” With a report from Michael Lim Ubac