AFTER the top magistrate’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN), the House Prosecution panel will show more evidence to prove that Chief Justice Renato Corona has amassed ill-gotten wealth.

Prosecutors said that they will present today the Income Tax Returns (ITR) and other tax records of Corona and his family members for scrutiny to determine if they are paying the right taxes.

Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto Henares has been subpoenaed to appear in this week’s continuation of the impeachment proceeding to turn over Corona’s tax records.

According to prosecution spokesperson Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada, this is making Corona very nervous prompting him to order his lawyers to block plans by the prosecution panel to make public the tax documents as evidence in his impeachment trial.

“The chief justice could be very nervous about what will happen once Commissioner Henares reveals his tax records and that of his immediate family members,” Tañada said in a statement.

Another spokesperson, Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo said that Corona’s tax records are vital to prove his ill-gotten wealth as alleged in Article 2 of the impeachment case filed against him.

“We expected the defense panel to block this new damaging evidence against the chief justice because they don’t want the public to realize that he might have amassed wealth that he cannot justify legally,” Quimbo said.

“If he has nothing to hide then he should allow the prosecution to present his tax records without delay and objection,” the solon added.

Last week, the prosecution panel successfully revealed the contents of his SALN which showed that from 2002 or the year he joined the SC, his assets grew from P14 million to P22.9 million in 2010 or the year he was appointed as Chief Justice.

A close scrutiny of his net worth declarations against his land and condominium purchases showed that these were “grossly out of proportion” to his lawful income, according to the prosecution.

Both Tañada and Quimbo said that through records from the BIR, the prosecution will prove at the very least that Corona’s tax payments do not match the information he declared in his SALN.

Connecting dots

The income tax returns of Chief Justice Renato Corona would bear out unexplained wealth charges against him, said  Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

“Corona has worked for 20 years in government so that should be his only source of income,” Lacierda said, stressing that the ITRs are needed to “connect the dots on his unexplained wealth, given that his source of income is limited.”

Lacierda said Corona’s SALNs have already shown that the value of properties he acquired, especially the condominium unit in Taguig, was below the actual acquisition prices.

Corona’s lawyer, Tranquil Salvador III, said the defense panel will question the presentation of BIR chief Henares as witness in the impeachment court.

But Lacierda dared the defense camp not to oppose the release of the ITRs.

“Kung wala silang itinatago, bakit sila natatakot ilabas ang ITRs (If they have nothing to hide, why are they afraid to release the ITR)?” Lacierda added.

“That’s the logic of the prosecution: to connect the dots and to see if these are wealth that is ill-gotten. If he (Corona) cannot explain it, then it is considered as unexplained wealth,” he added

Lacierda said the ITRs are necessary to show if Corona has the capacity to purchase certain real estate properties given his income. 

“What we have seen uncovered so far clearly suggests that there is a misrepresentation on the part of the chief justice,” Lacierda said. 

He said Corona did not declare the real value of a condominium unit that he is said to have purchased. 

“The amount of acquisition as stated in the SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth) [was] a lot lower than the actual purchase price, the actual acquisition price,” Lacierda said. 

“For instance, in the Bellagio, in the Taguig property, it [is] stated (in the SALN), six million; whereas, in truth and in fact, the deed of absolute sale in the Bellagio sale was around 14.5 million. And so, we also know for a fact that Chief Justice Corona has been working in government for 20 years and, therefore, his only source of income should be his salary as a government official. And so we need the ITRs,” the Palace official added.   


With EMontano