Aquino can discuss merits of Corona impeachment case, says Palace aide

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III may discuss the merits of the case in Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial, a Palace aide indicated on Friday.

Abigail Valte, a spokesperson of Mr. Aquino, said the Chief Executive isn’t covered by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s admonition that the parties in the impeachment case refrain from publicly discussing the merits of the case.

Asked if the President’s speech on Thursday constituted a discussion of the merits of the trial, Valte said, “Those figures [in Mr. Aquino’s speech] are out there and that admonition of the Senate President was intended for the parties.”

“If you remember … there has been no formal gag order that has been issued. And even then, technically, the President is not a party to the impeachment,” she added.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile in the early stages of the trial told senator-judges, prosecutors and members of the defense panel to refrain from discussing the merits of the case in the media.

In a speech delivered in Filipino at a “town hall meeting” with students from various universities and colleges at La Consolacion College near Malacañang, Mr. Aquino expressed frustration over the lengthy legal discussions in the impeachment trial that, he said, appeared to be aimed at confusing the public and causing it to lose interest in the proceedings.

The President said Corona declared bank accounts worth just P3.5 million in 2010 and evidence so far presented in the impeachment trial show his peso deposits at that time to be worth P31.5 million.

The second of the eight articles of impeachment against Corona charges the Chief Justice with failing to truthfully disclose his assets, liabilities and net worth.

Mr. Aquino said a court interpreter from Davao City was sacked after she failed to declare in her SALN a public market stall that she had been renting out.

“For a court interpreter, that is the standard. How much is the rent for a stall in the market? For the Chief Justice, should the standard be different?” Mr. Aquino told his audience.  “If Mrs. Flores lost her job, what do you think should be the verdict on Mr. Corona? Do we even have to ask whether what he did was an impeachable offense?”

The President was referring to the case Delsa Flores, a court interpreter from Davao City who lost her government post because she failed to declare in her SALN her ownership of a market stall that she rents out to augment her pay.

“If you were Delsa Flores, how would you feel if you learn that there’s a person who withheld declaring a bigger amount in his SALN?” he added.

Aquino said Corona also kept his SALN as a magistrate locked inside a vault instead of making it available to the public.

“Would Juan Dela Cruz allow himself to be left out of this process? Are we going to allow only a few to decide for all of us?” the President said.

“The question in this trial is rather simple? Can we still trust Mr. Corona? We can answer that with the truth coming out during the trial,” he added.

The President said that the SALN wasn’t a piece of scratch paper but a document sworn to by every public official as provided for in Article 11, Section 17 of the constitution. He said the constitution also directs public officials to have these SALNs disclosed to the public.

“As the truth comes out, the reasons why Mr. Corona was hiding his SALNs in a vault are becoming clear,” he said.

Aquino adverted to the testimonies by PSBank president Pascual Garcia and by BPI Ayala branch manager Leonora Dizon.

Their testimonies showed Corona has P31.5 million in his bank accounts but his SALNs show he declared P3.5 million in bank deposits.

“It’s clearer than the light of day. Mr. Corona, the declaration you swore to isn’t consistent with what has been discovered to be your assets,” the President said. “In any school in the world, P3.5 million does not equal P31.5 million.”