Be merciful on Corona, administration asked

Former Chief Justice Renato Corona. SENATE POOL

The man is “professionally dead,” why kick a man when he is down.

The House minority said this Wednesday as it appealed for compassion from the Aquino administration for former Chief Justice Renato Corona, who is facing a complaint of tax evasion, a few months after being ousted from the highest judicial post.

In the same way that the Aquino administration is asking the public to give the new Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno a chance, so too must it show “a little kindness” to her predecessor, said Quezon Representative Danilo Suarez, the minority leader.

In a statement, Suarez said Corona was “a downtrodden man” after he was impeached and subsequently convicted. There is no reason to kick a man when he is down, he said.

“He is by all means professionally dead. There is no need to add to his burden by filing case after case for forfeiture and tax evasion,” he said.

“The administration should be magnanimous in victory, hence, we appeal for a little bit of compassion in this case,” Suarez  added.

He said Corona was only found guilty of omitting certain items in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), “and this is even debatable.” No evidence of ill-gotten wealth was found, he added.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue earlier filed a P150-million tax evasion complaint against Corona, his daughter Carla and the latter’s husband, Constantino Castillo. Leila B. Salaverria