THE House prosecution panel said that the two real estate properties of Chief Justice Renato Corona, declared in his 2010 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth, were “undervalued.”

During the presentation of evidence, it was revealed that the two condominium units of Corona in Taguig have different prices in the “deed of sale and market value.”

For the Bellagio condominium, the deed of sale was P14.5 million however the declared market value is only P6.8 million.

On the other hand, the unit in Fort Bonifacio Ridge has a deed of sale of P9.1 million but only declared as worth P2.3 million.

Also, it was discovered that the unit in Fort Bonifacio Ridge was acquired by Corona on October 14, 2005 however it was not declared in his 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 SALN.

“Bigla na lang ito sumulpot sa 2010 SALN, at hindi nakita sa mga naunang SALN,” Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, one of the prosecution panel spokespersons, said in a media briefing.

“His SALN showed very, very damning evidence in so far as the degree of honesty and integrity of the Chief Justice is concerned,” Quimbo added.

The prosecutors noted that in the nine years of Corona’s stay in the Supreme Court, his SALN tripled from P7 million in 2002 to P22 million in 2010.

The properties in Taguig were just some of the many questionable properties of Corona raised by the prosecutors in the Articles of Impeachment.

Meanwhile, it was disclosed that another property in McKinley Hill, Taguig was not declared in his 2009 SALN despite its acquisition on October 21, 2008 for P6.1 million.

While the defense panel claimed that the property could not be declared in the SALN because it was the daughter, Charina, who bought it, the deed of sale showed that Corona and his wife Cristina purchased it.

Another spokesperson, Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tanada III, said that because of these discrepancies Corona could be liable for perjury.

“SALN is declared under oath and if you don’t tell the truth, you are guilty of perjury. Obviously, it would be very difficult to have a Chief Justice who is accused of lying under oath,”

'Ill-gotten’

The House prosecution panel will continue disclosing the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the beleaguered Chief Justice.

Tanada said the release of  Corona’s SALN will help them reveal the irregularities involving the Chief Justice.

“Ito ay panimulang hakbang para malaman ang katotohanan. Maipagpapatuloy na namin ang paglalatag ng ebidensiya at katotohanan laban kay CJ Corona,” Tanada said in an interview.

During the impeachment trial, the Senate Impeachment Court ordered Clerk of Court Enriquetta Vidal to surrender Corona’s SALN from 2002 up to present.

Based on the documents, Corona’s SALN are 2002, P14.9 million; 2003, P7.3 million; 2004, P7.3 million; 2005, P8.3 million; 2006, P9.5 million; 2007, P11 .million, 2008, P12.5 million; 2009, P14.5 million and 2010,P22.9 million.

The documents showed that Corona’s worth jumped from P14.2 million when he was appointed Associate Justice to P22.9 million and when he was appointed Chief Justice by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The prosecution’s earlier allegation that one of the expensive condominiums bought by Corona and his wife Cristina, amounting to P14.5 million, was not found in any of his SALN.

The unit at the Bellagio Tower 1 in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, has a floor area of 303.5 square meters, the prosecutors claimed.

Tanada said that the SALN documents indicate Corona has no moral ascendancy.

“Ngayon, makikita ng taong bayan na hindi na siya karapat-dapat na umupo bilang mahistrado ng SC lalo na bilang Chief Justice dahil immoral ang pagkatao niya,” Tanada added.

Tanada stressed that this is one way to determine if Corona used his position to gain wealth. The prosecution panel claimed that Corona has a total of 45 properties.

In his SALN, Corona reported a condominium in Makati in 2003 worth P1.2 million, a condominium in Taguig in 2004 worth P2.3 million, and another condominium in Taguig in 2010 worth P6.8 million.

These prime properties were allegedly purchased on installment after he was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2002.

Corona has admitted that a 300-square meter apartment in The Fort, Taguig belongs to him and his wife and that he declared it in his SALN.

The prosecution said that the documents showed that while some properties were declared, others were misdeclared as having a lower value.