By JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE
InterAksyon.com
ORIENTAL Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali on Tuesday insisted that a “small lady” handed him the dubious photocopies of bank documents showing the accounts allegedly owned by Chief Justice Renato Corona, but he admitted he cannot prove his source’s existence.
“I have no proof, I have no proof but my word as an officer of the court,” Umali told reporters Tuesday.
Umali earlier said that a “small lady” handed him the documents in an envelope between 2:30 and 3 p.m. on Feb. 2 as he was about to leave the Senate building.
The impeachment court ordered the CCTV cameras of the Senate building reviewed to determine the identity of the woman, who might be held liable for illegal possession of the documents.
Many have speculated on the identity of the “small lady.” Several names, including that of journalist Raissa Robles, have been dragged into the controversy. Robles has vehemently denied she is the “small lady.”
On Day 16 of the impeachment trial on Monday, Anabelle Tiongson, manager of Philippine Savings Bank’s Katipunan branch, where the documents allegedly came from, said the photocopies submitted by the prosecution were “fake.”
While Umali cannot verify the “small lady’s” existence, he maintained that the documents his source turned over were “authentic” and that he himself could not have forged it.
“Sabi ko nga sa inyo napakahirap naman manghula ng mga numero ng mga bank accounts na yan at pekein yung mga dokumento gaya ng signature ni Corona (As I’ve told you it is would be very hard to invent bank account numbers and fake the documents including Corona’s signature),” he said.
Umali added that “some people” might be the ones lying to protect their interest, especially as these documents are prohibited from going public unless permitted by the owner.
“They are scared of the liability because under the law it is the bank officers who may be liable,” Umali said. “Some people to my mind are lying and are being made to lie if only to protect their own skin.”
Prosecution spokesperson Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, meanwhile, said they have made it clear to the court prior to the subpoena that they “cannot vouch for the authenticity” of the alleged records from PSBank. He stressed that there was no attempt to mislead the court and the public.
“We even say with great caution that we cannot vouch for the authenticity of the documents…but they actually turned out to be true,” Quimbo said.
Quimbo said it was Tiongson and PSBank’s president Pascual Garcia III who confirmed the existence of Corona’s bank accounts. Last week, Garcia said answered “Yes” when Senate President and Presiding Judge Juan Ponce Enrile asked if the 10 accounts he enumerated exists.
Quimbo maintained that the bank documents turned over to them “would only come from the bank.”
In Monday’s impeachment hearing, Enrile threatened to quash the subpoeana on the bank documents if the prosecution failed to prove its authenticity. He told Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, chief of the House prosecution team, to furnish him a written explanation on how the prosecution obtained the documents.
