Aquino renews war vs. Corona
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd on Thursday and for the nth time lambasted Chief Justice Renato Corona in public and cited a discrepancy between the top magistrate’s peso bank accounts totaling P31.5 million and his 2010 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) showing only a total of P3.5 million in cash.
President Aquino said that the big difference between the declared cash in the statement and the cash in the bank was enough reason for Corona to vacate his post immediately.
The Chief Justice is facing trial before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court for alleged offenses meriting removal from the top post in the High Tribunal.
During an open forum at
exclusive La Consolacion College Manila, Mr. Aquino was asked by a student what his reaction would be once Corona was found innocent by senator-judges.
“It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to pursue the reform agenda of my administration,” he said.
The President further cited a Supreme Court ruling wherein a mere court interpreter, a certain Delsa Flores of Mindanao, was removed from government service after she failed to list in her wealth statement an income derived from a market stall that she owned.
“Maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw, di tugma ang SALN sa mga pag-aari mo [It is clear as day, what you own does not tally with your SALN],” he said in his “Pulong Bayan” caravan at La Consolacion College that kicked off the 10- day celebration of the so- called Edsa revolt in 1986.
The revolt, actually a four-day civilian-backed military uprising, catapulted Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the mother of the incumbent leader, to the presidency, succeeding strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
“What should be the judgment ( against Corona)? Is there still a question if his offenses are impeachable?” Mr. Aquino asked his audience of hundreds of students from various colleges and universities, apparently referring to the 2010 wealth statement of the Chief Justice.
On Day 19 of Corona’s trial before the Senate impeachment court on Thursday, bank officials from Philippine Savings Bank (Psbank) told senator-judges that the top magistrate had a total of P31.5 million in at least five of his peso accounts.
“For example, in his 2010 SALN, he declared P3.5 million in cash. His three bank accounts showed [that] he has a secret stash of P31.5 million. Ang P3.5 million pesos ay hindi kaparehas ng P31.5 million . . . Hindi scratch paper ang SALN. It is a signed and sworn affidavit [P3.5 million is not the same as P31.5 million . . . The SALN is not a scratch paper],” the President said.
Mr. Aquino also balked at the promise of the Chief Justice to disclose “in due time” his dollar accounts that are the subject of inquiry before the Senate impeachment court.
“When is this due time? Perhaps he is overdue . . . If you are a Chief Justice, are you exempted from obeying the law? Are you overdue?,” he told his audience.
The President urged Corona to “stop fooling the people” in trying to justify allegedly untruthful declarations in his wealth statement.
Also during the forum, he denied that he was turning into a dictator.
“Before I was elected, they said [that] I was a spoiled brat and immature. In 2010, they called me weak. In 2011, they called me a dictator. Now in 2012, they are calling me a weakling dictator,” Mr. Aquino said.
He called on the youth to be involved in the ongoing Senate impeachment trial of Corona.
And it seemed that the President would have enough time to implore the youth to be vigilant as he was scheduled to go to 25 more campuses nationwide to hold forums similar to the one held at La Consolacion College.
The campus tour was being organized by Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office.
It is dubbed as “Pilipinas Natin,” but some pundits call it as Coloma’s support for Vice President Jejomar Binay, whom he backed in the 2010 elections in his capacity as a key leader of the socalled Samar group, a faction vying for Mr. Aquino’s attention.
This faction’s rival, the so-called Balay group, is headed by defeated candidate for vice president and now Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas 2nd.