MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona on Tuesday denied he has 82 dollar accounts with at least $10 million as alleged by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales last week.
In the second part of his lengthy opening statement, Corona said, “wala ako kilala na may 82 bank accounts. Ewan ko kay Ombudsman, baka sya meron.”
Corona also said he had a reason in pushing his defense team to present Carpio-Morales as a witness, even though some experts say it was a wrong move and damaging to his case.
In the second part of his lengthy opening statement, Corona said, “wala ako kilala na may 82 bank accounts. Ewan ko kay Ombudsman, baka sya meron.”
Corona also said he had a reason in pushing his defense team to present Carpio-Morales as a witness, even though some experts say it was a wrong move and damaging to his case.
He said the evidence Carpio-Morales used, sourced from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), is not backed by any “investigation, no court order…it’s clearly a polluted source.”
After Carpio-Morales' testimony last week, Corona said he called a team of accountants to show that Ombudsman’s PowerPoint was a deception.
Basa-Guidote dispute
In the first part of his opening statement, Corona said lessons learned from the family feud at the Basa Guidote Enterprises Inc. (BGEI), involving his wife and her relatives, forced him to make investments in foreign exchange.
He said he was afraid to invest in properties because of the bad experience of his wife, Cristina, with respect to BGEI's intra-corporate dispute.
“Ininvest nalang namin sa foreign exchange para hindi mawalan ng halaga at madali paghati-hatian kapag may mangyari sa amin, walang problema at walang inggitan,” he said.
He claimed his wife’s relatives tried to wrangle away from the rest of the clan a P2.5 billion property in Libis, Quezon City. He said it was led by Jose Ma. Basa III, whom he described as a “spoiled brat.”
Corona also said Land Registration Authority (LRA) administrator Eulalio Diaz III is a nephew of Carpio-Morales and his SC rival, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.
Diaz had produced a list of 45 properties under the name of the Coronas, which the prosecution used against the chief magistrate.
“Wala po akong 45 properties,” he said.
He also said he put the correct values of all his properties in his SALN “in good faith,” which is the fair market value in tax declarations. He said it was more reliable compared to the appraisal values.
No comments:
Post a Comment