Chief Justice Renato Corona. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Chief Justice Renato Corona on Tuesday denied rumors he was stepping down following the testimony of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales that he has 82 dollar accounts in various banks with at least $12 million in deposits.
“No resignation. Tuloy ang laban (The fight will go on)!” Corona told reporters at the Supreme Court after attending a novena Mass for his acquittal.
There was a text blast Tuesday morning alleging that the Chief Justice would hold a press conference at 11 a.m. in a Manila hotel to announce his resignation.
One of the defense lawyers, Tranquil Salvador, said “to my mind, it is part of a misinformation drive.”
Corona, in a text message sent to reporters Tuesday evening, called as “lantern of lies” the testimony of the Ombudsman and dared her to resign if he could prove her wrong.
“Either she does not know what she is talking about, or is purposely misleading the impeachment court and the public. Is she even privy to how the AMLC arrived at the bloated numbers?” said Corona.
“We will debunk all her bloated numbers. And once she is proven wrong, I urge her to immediately resign from her post for allowing herself to be used by this administration and making a laughingstock of ‘government auditing,’” he said.
Meantime, Supreme Court spokesman Midas Marquez declined to comment when asked if the Supreme Court temporary restraining order on the opening of Corona’s alleged dollar accounts was violated by Morales’ testimony.
“Well, the TRO is directed to PS bank if I’m not mistaken. But of course, it is also about foreign deposits. If there’s a violation, then let that be brought to the attention of the court,” Marquez said.
“I don’t think I should venture an opinion on that issue. Maybe it should be the defense that should raise that or, if there are other parties which should raise that, it should be raised before the court,” he added.
Marquez also said he had yet to receive word if Corona had asked the Supreme Court en banc to allow him to release his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth.