Palace aide: What code? Just ask Corona

Undersecretary Abigail Valte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Saturday sneered at Chief Justice Renato Corona’s lawyers for claiming they had “cracked the code” with respect to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales’ testimony on the impeached magistrate’s dollar accounts.

“They didn’t have to crack the code. All they needed to do was ask their client if he has dollar deposits,” Abigail Valte, one of President Benigno Aquino’s spokespersons, said over the government-run radio station dzRB.

Defense lawyers on Friday expressed confidence that Corona would be acquitted. They said that out of the 82 accounts Morales testified on as a witness presented by the defense itself, only three or four actually exist  and they did not necessarily belong to the chief justice.

“It doesn’t matter whether there’s three, whether there’s four, whether there’s 82. What matters is what’s in them. How much is the amount that is in those [bank accounts]?” Valte said.

“These are simple questions that must be answered. First, is it true that there are dollar deposits? Second, if it’s true, how much do they contain? Third, if there are indeed deposits, were these declared in his SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth)?” she added.