MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution team bared an alleged attempt by the camp of Chief Justice Renato Corona to present as part of evidence in the impeachment trial the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of President Benigno Aquino III and 25 other politicians and government officials.
Aquino’s SALNs and 25 other personalities were part of the three stories – “SALN: Good law, bad results,” “Great filers, big barriers” and “House of Secrets” – posted and published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism on its website that Corona’s defense team now wants presented before the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court.
The prosecution team pointed this out in its eight-page opposition filed Monday against the defense team’s request to subpoena PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas and other staff responsible for these articles and other related documents.
“After a review of those articles, it shows that pursuant to respondent’s [Corona] request, he intends to have the SALNs of the following persons brought and presented before this honorable court,” the prosecution said.
Aside from Aquino, the prosecution said, the PCIJ articles also mentioned the SALNs of:
* Vice President Jejomar Binay
* Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales,
*Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile
*Senator Edgardo Angara
*Senator Manny Villar
*Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago
*Senator Joker Arroyo
*Budget Secretary Florencio Abad
*Health Secretary Enrique Ona
*Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio De los Reyes
*Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario
*Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras
*Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin
*Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo
*Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima
*Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson
*Tourisim Secretary Ramn Jimenez
*Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa
*National Anti-Poverty Commission chairman Jose “Joel” Rocamora
*MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino
*Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas
*Civil Service Commission Fracisco Duque
*Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes
*Former COA chairman Reynaldo Villar
*Iloilo Niel Tupas Jr.
“We remind respondent that the issue is his failure to disclose assets in his SALN. These public officials are not being held on trial but the respondent. Therefore, the SALNs of the various public officials have no relevancy to the issue at hand,” the prosecution team said.
“It now becomes clear why respondent’s request was couched in a vague language. The prosecution is convinced that the strategy now is to delay the proceedings and introduce evidence that would divert the attention of this honorable court and the public as well as from the glaring omissions and under declarations made by respondent in his SALNs that was previously established by the prosecution when it presented its evidence in chief,” it added.
The instant request for subpoena, the prosecutors said, deserved an outright denial from this honorable court “as the witnesses and documents sought to be obtained run contrary our law on evidence as relevancy to the same is clearly lacking.”
The prosecution team branded the defense team’s intention to present the testimonies and documents of the witnesses as “dilatory tactics” and “frivolous moves.”
If Corona really wants to prove lack of malice and bad faith when he filled up his SALN, then the Chief Justice himself should take the witness stand, said the prosecutors.