Leonora Dizon, branch manager of BPI-Ayala Avenue
Chief Justice Renato Corona maintained a multimillion-peso checking account with Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)-Ayala Avenue branch in Makati City, the manager of the branch said Thursday.
The checking account, also an Express Teller checking account, had a balance of P12,024,067.70, as of Dec. 31, 2010, said Leonora Dizon, branch manager of BPI-Ayala Avenue.
Dizon made this disclosure when she appeared before the Senate impeachment court, two days after she was subpoenaed by the Senate to disclose BPI bank records of the Chief Justice.
Dizon’s disclosure came a day after another bank official, Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) president Pascual Garcia III, told senator-judges that Corona kept at least P24.6 million in peso accounts with PSBank between 2007 and 2010.
Garcia produced the certifications for five peso accounts covering the ending balances for the four-year period.
Under questioning by private prosecutor Arthur Lim, Dizon revealed the ending balances for Corona’s Account No. 1445-8030-61, which was opened in 1989.
P32-M bank deposits
However, Dizon only brought with her records covered by the subpoena, which was the ending balances for a five-year period: Dec. 31, 2005, P149,767.36; Dec. 31, 2006, P153,395.12; Dec. 31, 2007, P5,069,711.18; Dec. 31, 2008, P1,525,872.87; Dec. 31, 2009, P678,501.83; and Dec. 31, 2010, P12,024,067.70.
Dizon confirmed that the checking account was “an active account.”
“Our checking accounts come with an ATM (Automated Teller Machine) card. When you open a checking account, you are also issued an ATM card,” Dizon told Lim.
House lead prosecutor Niel Tupas Jr. said the Chief Justice declared only P3.5 million representing cash and/or investments in his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) for 2010.
“So far, we discovered bank deposits in the amount of P32 million for 2010,” said Tupas in an interview at the end of the trial.
Before presenting Dizon to the impeachment court, Lim manifested that her testimony would show that Corona “has assets manifestly disproportionate to his income,” and allegedly “committed culpable violation of the Constitution … accountability of public officers, including betrayal of public trust.”
Other accounts
Dizon, however, begged off from disclosing the amount of the initial deposit. She said that based on the information indicated on the subpoena only the ending balances were required by the court.
Dizon brought with her certified true copies of bank statements and signature cards pertaining to the checking/ATM account.
She could not say for sure, when asked by Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, whether Corona had savings account or other accounts with BPI.
“I was only required to produce this particular account. I only concentrated on the account numbers stated in the subpoena,” said Dizon.
She said as much when Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano inquired whether the checking account was “linked to another account.”
“Not necessarily. In BPI, not all checking accounts are (linked to other accounts).”
Dizon said that “there is no indication” that other accounts existed.
Cross-examining the witness, the lead defense counsel, Serafin Cuevas, was able to elicit from Dizon that the amounts she had mentioned did not account for a single deposit or withdrawal.
“I can’t confirm this. But it could be possible,” she said.
9-month pregnant
“If ordered by the court to produce the statement of accounts, would you be able (to do so)? Except when you’re already somewhere else,” Cuevas said in jest, noting that Dizon is 9-month pregnant.
“We will comply (with) whatever we will be required of the subpoena,” she said.
Before Dizon was discharged from the stand, the impeachment court debated on the propriety of issuing subpoena on other bank documents to be able to track down all the withdrawals and deposits made for the account.
“The balance at the end of Dec. 31, 2010, is the result of those running balances from the time it was opened in 1989 until the year 2010. And it reflects the changes in those accounts over these years,” Enrile said.
Enrile then ordered Dizon to produce the documents requested by the defense counsel.
Cuevas and Lim later agreed to view the documents at BPI’s Ayala branch, which should take place next week.
Joint inspection
On Thursday night, the defense indicated that it might waive the request to jointly inspect Corona’s monthly statement of accounts at the BPI Bank branch on Ayala Avenue.
“While the whole court is debating among members the matter of inspection of statements of accounts, my cocounsel in the defense received a call from the Chief Justice that he has some of the documents with him. I would not know which will be material to us. If this is true, then in effect we will withdraw our motion,” Cuevas told the impeachment court.
He requested the prosecution to give the defense until Monday to arrange the joint inspection. With reports from TJ Burgonio and Maila Ager
Originally posted at 06:09 pm | Thursday, February 09, 2012