SENATOR Chiz Escudero defended President Benigno Aquino III against allegations that the chief executive is talking to senator-judges to convince them to vote against Chief Justice Renato Corona in his impeachment case.

Lawyer Serafin Cuevas, Corona’s lead counsel, had said the defense team is alarmed over reports that the President is talking to the senators one by one as he can really sway members of the impeachment court to “vote against what they really feel.”

Escudero, a known ally and personal friend of the President, debunked this fear.

The senator said he was with Aquino last week and during the entire course of their conversation, the Corona team’s allegation was never mentioned.

“PNoy and I are friends, we talked for about an hour about a lot of things. To be fair and factual about it, he did not bring up the issue nor even mention it.”

“I am speaking on a personal standpoint and knowing PNoy, what Atty. Cuevas is accusing him of is out of the President’s character. He won’t do such a thing.” 

Sereno’s SALN

Malacañang’s bet to succeed Chief Justice Renato Corona in case the latter is convicted is in danger of facing impeachment, perjury, and tax evasion charges if she failed to disclose her alleged multi-billion-peso earnings in her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno is believed to have earned a hefty sum when her law firm was still handling the case involving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 3 filed by German airport operator Fraport AG and  Philippine International Air Terminal Co. (PIATCO).

A source said that Sereno along with retired SC Justice Florentino Feliciano, of the  Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), were part of the losing legal team  who received P2.65 billion in attorneys’ fees from the Philippine government.

But Sereno only declared in her SALN P17.9 million and did not divulge her alleged earnings in the PIATCO case.

"If her total declared assets is only P17.9 million, where were her earnings from the PIATCO case? She is part of the legal team in Washington and in Singapore and we saw her during her travels along with Justice Feliciano. Remember P2.6 billion was shelled out by the Philippine government to them," the source pointed out.

The source said that Sereno could face impeachment for culpable violation of the 1987 Constitution, along with perjury if she did not declare her real earnings from the PIATCO case.

"Were the correct taxes paid by Justice Sereno with her earnings in the PIATCO case? if not, she could be charged with tax evasion," the source added.

While it is true that Sereno and Associate Justice Antonio Carpio have made public the contents of their SALN, these were just summaries of their SALN and  not the actual SALN, the source continued.

TRO sought

Lawyers Homobono Adaza and Alan Paguia yesterday asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order stopping the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona pending the High Court’s resolution on the merits of their petitions which they earlier filed.

In a three-page urgent motion, Adaza and Paguia asked the High Tribunal to set their petition – questioning the legality of the impeachment – for oral argument.

“The attempt at impeachment of the chief justice will affect the fate and destiny of our country and our people, specifically the Constitution, the rule of law and all institutions of government,” they stressed.

The SC will resume its regular sessions on January 17.

In a 23-page petition, Adaza and Paguia asked the SC to declare as unconstitutional the impeachment complaint and articles of impeachment against Corona which they averred were not verified by the overwhelming majority of the complainants.           With  Hector Lawas