Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales PHOTO BY RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines— The Senate has resumed its impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona with Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales returning to the witness stand to continue her testimony on the multi-million dollar bank accounts that the chief magistrate had allegedly owned.
Seventeen senators, acting as judges, were present in the trial that began a little past 2:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday.
In her testimony Monday, Morales said that based on a report provided to her by the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Corona owned 82 dollar accounts in five local banks and more than $12 million “fresh deposits.”
Morales said “fresh deposits” referred to accounts that “never moved” and “remained” in particular accounts.
The Ombudsman was presented by Corona’s camp as a “hostile” witness after she ordered an investigation into the alleged dollar bank accounts of the Chief Justice.