Defense sees prosecution pinning Corona as bonsai enthusiast

MANILA, Philippines—After accusing Chief Justice Renato Corona of hiding or under-declaring the value of 45 properties, the prosecution panel might go to the extent of accusing the top magistrate of being an avid bonsai enthusiast to demolish his defense, one of Corona’s lawyers said on Sunday.

Tranquil Salvador III said the defense expected that the prosecution would still insist that Demetrio Vicente, Corona’s second-degree cousin, was just a caretaker of the 1,700-square-meter lot in Marikina Heights, Marikina City, and that the Chief Justice and his wife were the real owners of the property.

“Maybe they will try to insinuate that the Chief Justice loves bonsai and that (Vicente) is just an administrator or caretaker (of the property),” Salvador told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a mobile phone interview.

“I will not be surprised (if they do that), although I don’t think the prosecution would go to that extent of stretching this issue too much,” he added.

Sufficient

Salvador said Vicente’s testimony, backed by the documents that Corona’s counsels presented in the Senate impeachment court, and his interviews with the media were “sufficient” enough to conclude that the 70-year-old bonsai collector owned the piece of land.

“Mr. Vicente has been sufficently examined in court and interviewed (by the media). I think he has explained that he’s the owner of the property,” Salvador said.

Vicente, a noted and award-winning bonsai artist, took the witness stand last week in support of his embattled cousin who, he claimed, had not seen him since he bought the property from his wife, Cristina, and an adjacent lot from her sister Miriam Roco in 1990.

In his testimony, Vicente admitted that while he acquired the seven parcels of land for P1.018 million, the property remained in Cristina’s name since he failed to pay for the transfer of the certificate of title.

When the Inquirer visited him in his Marikina residence on Friday, the old man said he would have to shell out around P200,000 just to have the property transferred to his name and pay the penalties, which accumulated for the past 22 years.

Vicente, a stroke survivor, swore that he owned the property, which he turned into a green paradise for his collection of over 2,000 bonsai plants.

Not caretaker

“If I were merely a caretaker, how would this bonsai have roots like that?” he told the Inquirer, referring to one of the prized miniature plants he patiently tended for years.

Salvador said it was just natural for the House prosecutors to remain doubting Thomases and maintain that Vicente’s testimony was not credible since they were prosecuting the case against the Chief Justice.

“We are not surprised if they find the witness not very credible. They are entitled to their own view. But it’s not their view or our view that would matter. It’s the view of the senator-judges because they will give the final verdict,” he said.

While he respected the prosecution’s own opinion, Salvador said he believed the “public will be in the best position to say or conclude whether or not (Vicente) owns the property.”

Credible

“Some of the senator-judges said he is credible, but the prosecution said he is not credible. At the end of the day, who will determine that? It’s the senator-judges,” Salvador said, adding, “Of course we have our own personal views because we are (in the opposing sides). But it’s the senator-judges and the public who will be able to ascertain if he’s the owner of the property.”

Salvador said the defense was set to present several witnesses in support of Corona’s claims that he only owned five properties, but declined to identify them.

After four days of presenting its own evidence, Salvador claimed that defense succeeded in debunking the prosecution’s allegations that Corona had at least 21 properties, most of which he did not disclose in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

“To that extent, we were able to prove that we are left with just a few more properties (to explain)… There are still unidentified titles, which are original titles owned by Megaworld Corp.,” he said.

2 defense witnesses

In a separate interview, defense lawyer Ramon Esguerra said the defense would present Land Registration Authority (LRA) administrator Eulalio Diaz and the assessor of Makati City as witnesses during the resumption of Corona’s trial on Monday.

Esguerra said they expected Diaz to speak about the circumstances surrounding the release of a document, which showed that Corona purportedly owned 45 properties.

Marikina Representative Romero Quimbo and other members of the House prosecution panel presented the document to the media a few days before Corona’s trial started, but later claimed they did not release the list.

Last week, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., the lead prosecutor, admitted that their list of Corona’s alleged properties was trimmed down to 21, including several parking lots.

“We want the LRA administrator, who certified the 45 properties… to clarify why some cancelled titles and those owned by Corona’s in-laws were still included on the list,” Esguerra said.

Asked if the defense would prove that there was malice in the release of the LRA document, he said: “We’re not so sure if we can establish that, but we will try to elicit that from the witness.”

As to reports that former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza had signified his willingness to testify for Corona, Esguerra replied: “I have not spoken with him. I don’t know if anyone from us had talked to him.”