Gov’t has recovered only P10,000

FORMER Chief Justice Renato Corona and his wife Cristina. Photo by Marc Jayson Cayabyab/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

So where’s the money?

The government has so far secured only P10,000 of the P131 million worth of properties and assets of dismissed Chief Justice Renato Corona and his wife Cristina that the Sandiganbayan ordered frozen in May 2014.

The antigraft court issued a writ of preliminary attachment, which is similar to a freeze order issued by trial courts, on the bank deposits and other assets of the Corona couple in connection with a civil forfeiture case filed against them by the Office of the Ombudsman.

In his accomplishment report dated Jan. 5, sheriff Alexander Valencia told the antigraft court’s Second Division that Rosemarie Osoteo, vice president of Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), informed him that an account registered under the name of Corona in the bank’s branch on Taft Avenue, Manila, only had P2,158.94 in actual deposit as of Oct. 16, 2015.

Valencia said Guadalupe Judy Tumambing, assessor of Batangas City, also told him that Cristina did not own any real estate property in the city.

The bank account and the supposed parcel of land in Batangas province were among those ordered garnished by the court to prevent the Corona couple from disposing them off while undergoing trial.

“In view thereof, (the) undersigned most respectfully requests for the writ of preliminary attachment remain in his possession for further implementation,” Valencia said in his letter.

This was the third time the sheriff had submitted a report regarding the efforts to get hold of the Coronas’ assets.

In March 2015, Valencia said the Bank of the Philippine Islands had already frozen an account containing P1,056.27 owned by Cristina.

He said another savings account of Corona’s wife in the Philippine National Bank branch in Diliman, Quezon City, had also been withheld, but it only had a total deposit of P6,524.71.

In his second report on April 28, 2015, the court sheriff said an account registered under the name of the Corona couple in Banco de Oro’s Loyola Heights-Berkeley Residences branch, which only had P615.06 in actual deposit, had already been garnished.

Six other commercial banks—Philippine Savings Bank, Phil-Am Asset Management Inc., United Overseas Bank, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Citibank and China Banking Corp.—had informed Valencia that the Coronas did not maintain accounts in their  branches.

The Corona couple’s properties in posh residential condominiums in Metro Manila were also covered by the court’s garnishment order. These included units and parking spaces in The Columns in Makati City, Bellagio I and Bonifacio Ridge in Taguig City and in One Burgundy Plaza in Quezon City.

The former Chief Justice and his wife were also the registered owners of a piece of property in La Vista subdivision, an upscale community in Quezon City.

According to the Office of the Ombudsman, Corona intentionally hid his real wealth when he did not divulge his properties and several bank accounts in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) as mandated by law.

It said the disgraced Chief Justice had also undervalued a number of his real estate properties.

In August last year, the antigraft court found probable cause to put Corona on trial for perjury and false declaration in his SALN.

Corona, whose appointment by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in May 2010 as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was met by criticisms for being a midnight appointment, was indicted for eight counts of perjury and eight counts of violation of Republic Act No. 6713, also known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

The Ombudsman said Corona and his wife earned a total of P30.4 million from 2001 to 2011. Of this amount, P27.1 million was earned by Corona as a government official.

Corona was impeached by the House of Representatives in December 2011 over his false declarations of wealth. The Senate impeachment court found him guilty in May 2012 of dishonesty in submitting his SALNs, resulting in his dismissal from the Supreme Court.

The senators took Corona to task for his failure to include some $2.4 million in bank deposits—on top of an allegedly commingled amount worth P80.7 million—in his SALNs from 2002 to 2010.