Corona to fight forfeiture case, says truth is on his side

Former chief justice Renato C. Corona. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Former Chief Justice Renato Corona on Wednesday branded as harassment the recent case of forfeiture and perjury against him and his family and said he will fight the case “knowing that the truth is on my side.”

“The harassment continues without let up. Malacañang and its attack dogs were not content with removing me from office. They have been filing all sorts of baseless and contrived cases against me and members of my family,” Corona said in a text message to reporters.

“I will fight this persecution to the very end, knowing that truth is on my side,” he said.

The Ombudsman, in its resolution, said Corona’s unexplained wealth is at least P130, 336, 212.88, a still conservative estimate “as it includes their cost of living allowance commensurate to their social stature and expenses entailed by their travels abroad.”

But Corona, in a statement, said “whatever we have is the product of 45 years of hard, honest work. I have never been involved in any anomalous or illegal transaction in my life.”

“This development, unfortunate as it is, is something we have been expecting all along. What fairness could we have expected from an Ombudsman who viciously prevaricated and testified against me as a malicious witness during my sham and multi-billion peso bribe-laden impeachment trial in 2012? This merciless persecution is but a replay of that PDAF and DAP-facilitated impeachment proceeding against me and my family,” he added.

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