Defense set on presenting SALNs of other gov’t officials

Thanks, but no thanks.

Despite misgivings by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, defense lawyers on Monday said they would go ahead with the presentation of the asset declarations of other public officials to prove that Chief Justice Renato Corona did not violate the Constitution as alleged by the prosecution.

Reacting to Enrile’s and other senators’ contention that submitting the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) of other government officials was irrelevant in Corona’s impeachment trial, Tranquil Salvador III said the members of the Senate tribunal were “entitled to their own opinion.”

“As much as we respect them, we believe in our way to defend the Chief Justice,” Salvador told reporters.

“The prosecution or any other individual cannot dictate on us how we should present our case. The law gave us that guarantee,” he said in Fiipino.

Enrile said in a radio interview over the weekend that Corona’s lawyers should drop its plan to present other SALNs and instead answer questions on Corona’s bank accounts.

“Let’s not complicate things anymore,” he said. “Go direct to the point. You just explain the charges against you. Then it’s done.”

But Salvador said it was important to show the “pattern” and the “existing practice” of government officials in filing their SALNs.

“We take note of the observations of the Senate President and we are very much receptive and sensitive to the observation of the senator-judges,” he said.

Just as the defense was trying to convince the Senate impeachment court that Corona was innocent of the charges against him, Salvador said it was also important to explain to the public that the Chief Justice faithfully submitted his SALN.

“We all know that this matter is not just being litigated in the court, but also in bar of public opinion. If we cannot explain this to the people, then they might think that the allegations (against Corona) were true,” the lawyer said.

“We just want to present our case in a methodical and orderly manner,” he said. “We don’t want to drag other public officials into this issue. We’re not trying to ridicule, embarrass or humiliate other people. That’s the least of our concern.”

Revisit SALN law

Salvador said most public officials thought the submission of the SALN was “being done just for the purpose of disclosure and compliance.”

“That’s why it’s high time for us to revisit the SALN law. Is the failure to submit a correct SALN an impeachable offense? In time, we will prove that it’s not,” he said.

The defense panel has petitioned the Senate to subpoena veteran journalist Malou Mangahas and her colleagues in the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) to appear on the witness stand.

In a motion, Corona’s lawyers said Mangahas and the PCIJ staff members who wrote articles and a documentary film about the SALN of justices and other public officials “will disprove any alleged willful omission of the entries in his SALNs and likewise show good faith in filling up the same.”

Rico Paolo Quicho, a defense spokesperson, said the constitutional provision on the SALN did not require more stringent guidelines for the Chief Justice and other magistrates of the Supreme Court than any other public official.

“We should take note that the Constitution … did not say that we should use different standards for the Chief Justice because of his position,” Quicho told reporters.

“I think it’s wrong to say that we should have a higher standard because he is the head of the judiciary,” he added.

No distinctions

Quicho said the compliance of all government workers, including appointed and elected officials, should be gauged only according to what the Constitution and the SALN law stated.

“If the law does not make any distinction, we should not make any distinction. The bottom line here is that all public officials, not only the Chief Justice, must comply with what the Constitution said about the submission of SALN,” he said.

Quicho pointed out that the Civil Service Commission recently announced that it would issue a new SALN form which would require specific entries—proof that the current SALN did not require detailed information.

He said even if Corona would be found to have been remiss in filling out his SALN, the gravity of the offense was not enough to warrant the Chief Justice’s impeachment.

“There are no clear guidelines. We’ve been constantly saying that there is no clear cut indicator on how to enter or fill up all the entries in the SALN form,” Quicho said.