Former Chief Justice Renato Corona. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
“May his soul find eternal rest.”
Thus said the family of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, claiming “vindication” with the dismissal of the P134-million forfeiture case that questioned the source of his wealth as a public official.
In a statement sent to the media on Friday by the family’s lawyer, Carlos Villaruz, the Coronas thanked their defense counsels and the Sandiganbayan, calling the antigraft court’s decision “true and just.”
They also thanked the supporters of the late chief justice for praying for him and defending him since the civil case accusing him of unexplained wealth was filed by then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.
The case was filed in 2014 during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III, two years after Corona was voted out of office by senator-judges in an impeachment court.
‘Smiling in heaven’
“We had faith in our justice system all these years. The decision is true and just,” the Corona family said. “It is a vindication for Chief Justice Renato Corona. May his soul find eternal rest.”
In a separate statement, Villaruz said: “CJ Corona’s family has been in agony and suffered all these years because of these cases, and with the dismissal of this last case, they cannot help but feel vindicated since our courts have consistently ruled that CJ Corona and his family did nothing wrong.”
“With this recent court decision, (his family and supporters) are sure that CJ Corona is cheering and smiling in heaven,” Villaruz said.
Francis, one of the Corona children, said he felt as though “a sharp piece of glass [was] taken out from under my skin.”
“The past decade was indeed a rollercoaster ride, a whirlwind storm of sorts, but blindfolded Lady Justice withstood it all, listened to our arguments and our pleas for justice,” he said. “All that will surface after the storm will be nothing but the absolute truth.”
‘Bittersweet victory’
Carla Castillo, Francis’ sibling, said “truth and justice prevailed.”
“It has been 11 years since the impeachment which brought about the many cases the Aquino administration filed against my Dad, my husband, myself and eventually the rest of my family,” Castillo said in a statement. “It is a bittersweet victory since Daddy is no longer physically in our presence, but I am certain that he is happily celebrating this triumph with us.” His father, she said, was thrown into those legal battles “because he stood his ground, upholding the rule of law, and doing his duty to give justice to the farmers of Hacienda Luisita.’’ She was refering to an April 2012 Supreme Court ruling, during Corona’s time as chief justice, that upheld the redistribution of land in the vast sugar plantation owned by the Cojuangcos (the family of Aquino’s mother, the late President Cory Aquino) in Tarlac.
Corona’s questioned statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) formed the basis of his impeachment conviction. Morales, a former colleague of Corona’s in the Supreme Court, anchored the forfeiture case also on the SALN.
After he died of cardiac arrest in April 2016 at age 67, Corona was represented in the civil case by his widow, Cristina, and their children Francis, Carla Castillo and Charina Salgado.
On Thursday, the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division ruled to dismiss the case, citing lack of evidence that the wealth being questioned was ill gotten.
The court acknowledged an admission by the Corona couple that some of their assets were not declared on the SALN, but said such a mistake only “signify a degree of carelessness.”
Echoing Supreme Court jurisprudence, the Sandiganbayan said SALNs should never be used as a “weapon for political vendetta.”
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