The prosecution was caught off guard on Tuesday when an executive of property developer Megaworld Corp. appeared at the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Noli Hernandez, Megaworld senior vice president for marketing and sales, had been subpoenaed by the Senate impeachment court, but the prosecution was not expecting him until Wednesday.
It was Hernandez who provided the defense with fresh ammunition to counter the prosecution’s claim of a P10-million discount given to Corona for the purchase of a 303.5-square-meter penthouse in The Bellagio at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.
Hernandez maintained that Corona and his wife, Cristina, had merely availed themselves of a price “reduction.”
Hernandez’s testimony is seen as crucial in stemming the tide of public perception that the Chief Justice committed impropriety for purchasing the penthouse unit at a 40-percent discount.
Enrile, Cuevas insisted
It was defense lead counsel Serafin Cuevas who called the attention of presiding officer Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile at the beginning of the trial on Tuesday that the defense was willing to cross-examine the Megaworld executive.
The head of the prosecution team, Representative Niel Tupas Jr., protested since another witness, Benito Cataran of the Securities and Exchange Commission, had been sworn in as witness for the day and was already seated on the witness stand. (Cataran instead took the stand Wednesday.)
But Enrile ordered Tupas to call Hernandez.
Since the prosecution was not aware of Hernandez’s presence at the Senate, it was not able to confer with him before the direct examination.
Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara, a prosecution spokesperson, said the prosecution team from the House of Representatives “was surprised because the witness only arrived at 2 p.m. Tuesday.”
“(We) expected (him) but he was supposed to be presented (on Wednesday), but JPE and Cuevas insisted he be presented” on Tuesday, Angara said.
Reduced or discount
The price of the property was P24 million but because it supposedly sustained “water damage” due to a typhoon, Megaworld lowered the price to P19.6 million, according to Hernandez.
Since Corona paid the property in less than a year, the company gave him a P5-million discount, Hernandez said, thus claiming that Corona received only a regular 15-percent discount.
“From P24 million, it’s basically P10 million,” Hernandez said. The unit was eventually sold to Corona’s wife Cristina in September 2008 for only P14.5 million.
Enrile, who was presiding over the trial, explained that a “reduced” price was different from a discounted price.
‘Out of thin air’
“So you have a situation where the court jumped the gun on the prosecution,” said a member of the House prosecution team who asked not to be named since he was not authorized to speak on the issue.
“Of course, we were surprised to see him (Hernandez). He materialized out of thin air,” the lawmaker said.
The job of examining the surprise witness fell on private prosecutor Joseph Joemar Perez, the lawyer in charge of cases dealing with the Megaworld properties of the Coronas.
“This explains why Perez appeared hesitant in examining Hernandez, but thankfully he saved the day for us,” the lawmaker said.
But it was not an easy task for the young Perez who was reprimanded by Enrile for employing a line of questioning that tended to “impeach” his witness.
Unanswered questions
The circumstances surrounding the purchase of The Bellagio penthouse unit have continued to confound senator-judges since the Hernandez testimony had elicited more questions than answers.
When grilled alternately by Senators Sergio Osmeña III and Francis Pangilinan and Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Hernandez couldn’t provide a straight answer to some of the vexing questions related to Corona’s penthouse.
Hernandez couldn’t say for sure whether Megaworld had filed an insurance claim over the supposed “water damage.”
The witness was also unsure if there was a damage incident report to corroborate his claim, when asked by Pangilinan.
Under questioning by Osmeña, Hernandez maintained that the P10-million “reduction” in price was not a “huge loss” to Megaworld, but he vacillated when his claim was repeatedly challenged by Osmeña.
Hernandez, who said he was privy to the pricing and discount for the penthouse unit, could not reveal to the court the date of the actual turnover of the unit to Cristina, and appeared to be evasive when asked about the basic fixtures missing from what he branded as a “semi-bare” unit when it was turned over to the buyer.
Evasive
Osmeña couldn’t hide his displeasure over the evasiveness of Hernandez.
“Essentially, the developer will not turn over a unit that is not finished and not up to specs (specifications) because the contracts would all reflect the representations and warranties, particularly in a condominium unit, and we doubt very much if you have been very accurate this afternoon,” the senator said.
Osmeña asked the court to compel Hernandez to produce various documents supporting his assertions.
It was established during the testimony of Hernandez that there are six penthouse units at the three top floors of The Bellagio. There are two units per floor.
Megaworld sold the units to different buyers at different rates, prompting the court to ask for the original price list of the penthouse unit.