By ELLEN TORDESILLAS
JUST when we were getting excited by another set of accounts by Chief Justice Renato Corona with the Philippine Savings Bank, Katipunan branch, totaling some P36 million which were withdrawn on Dec. 12, 2012, the day the House of Representatives approved the impeachment of the Chief Justice, bank manager Annabel Tiongson dropped another information that brought us back to the fascinating tale of the “small lady” that has regaled us the past days.
Nineteen days of impeachment trial have revealed that Corona has not been truthful in the declaration of his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth.
Corona stated in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for 2010 that he had only P3.5 million in cash and investments. Yet his five peso accounts at the Philippine Savings Bank showed he had P19,728,555.39 while his checking account at the Bank of the Philippines Island, Ayala branch contained P12,024,000.67 or a total of about P32 million as of Dec. 31, 2010.
Yesterday, more Corona millions were disclosed. PSB President Pascual Garcia and Tiongson disclosed that Corona closed three time deposit accounts worth at least P36 million on Dec. 12, 2011, the same day that the House of Representatives adopted the impeachment complaint against him, prompting Sen. Jinggoy Estrada to quip, “Ayoko mag-isip ng malisya pero nagsususpetsa talaga ako (I don’t want to cast malice, but I’m really suspicious.)”
That was not the only cause for malice and suspicion that surfaced in the impeachment trial. Tiongson, upon questioning by Sen. Loren Legarda, disclosed that on Jan. 31, 2012, Rep. Jorge Banal of Quezon City came to her office and showed her a two-page document that looked like the signature card of the bank.
Tiongson , demonstrating how Banal tried to conceal the full contents of the document, related that the congressman tried to verify if it was a dollar account. She said she was shocked to see the document that is supposed to be a highly classified document.
That account has been the subject of the temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court.
She said she asked Banal how he obtained the document and the congressman replied, “So many people are helping us.”
Tiongson also said Banal offered to tell her the source of the document if she would help them. She said she told Banal, “I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”
On Feb. 2, Inquirer columnist Conrado Banal III, brother of Representative Banal, wrote about Corona’s dollar account.
“For some time now, word goes around in business that a dollar bank account in PSBank was opened about four years ago under the name of one of the Chief Justice’s children, with an initial deposit of $700,000—or about P30 million,” Conrad wrote.
On Feb. 3, the prosecution requested for a supplemental subpoena on the dollar accounts of Corona, using as an attachment photo copies of the document related to Corona’s dollar account and Conrad Banal’s Feb. 2 column.
On Feb. 6, concerned that the bank documents the prosecution attached to their request for subpoena, which was granted, violated the secrecy of bank deposits law, Sen. Francis Escudero inquired how they obtained them. That was when the story about the ‘small lady” came up.
Rep. Niel Tupas, head of the prosecution team, said it was given to him by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, a member of the prosecution team. Umali said while he was in the Senate on Feb. 2, he was approached by a “small lady” who gave him an envelope containing the documents containing information on the dollar account of Corona.
A review of the Senate CCTV did not show any “small lady” approaching Umali.
Last Monday, Feb. 13, Pascual and Tiongson said the bank document on Corona’s dollar account, which was the basis for the subpoena, was “fake” because it had markings that was not in the original. The account number and the amount, however, were correct.
It is understandable that PSB would insist on the document to be ‘fake’ because if it would turn out that they were accomplice to the leak of the document, they would be liable for violating the banking secrecy law.
Tiongson’s disclosure of Banal’s Jan. 31 visit to her office raised further doubt on the “small lady” story of Umali.
The question that was immediately asked was, if Banal, who is a member of the prosecution secretariat, had already the document on Jan. 31, why didn’t Umali know about it? Or did he really not know about it?
Before the trial ended yesterday, Banal, who is the House deputy majority leader, took the stand and related that when he came home late in the evening Monday, Jan. 30, he saw a document at the gate which turned out to be the document on the dollar account of Corona. He said he went to see Tiongson the next day. That jibed with the account of Tiongson.
He said he didn’t inform other members of the prosecution team about the documents on Corona’s dollar accounts. He said he just kept the information to himself even as he followed it up with the bank.
Banal, who is vice chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, has authored children’s books.
Banal’s version looks more plausible than the ‘small lady” tale except one thing: How did he know that Corona’s account was in PSB, Katipunan branch when it was not indicated in the document he got?