CHIEF Justice Renato Corona yesterday accused “three powerful men” of orchestrating his ouster from the Supreme Court.

The embattled magistrate however refused to identify any one of the three during his early morning speech in front of at least 200 cheering supporters from the SC and lower courts.

Corona also accused the present administration of moving heaven and earth to get rid of him out of the SC, saying “I’m the last stumbling block in this government’s pursuit for a dictatorship.”

He stressed that these three persons want him out of the High Bench so that their own hidden agendas would be realized once they succeeded in booting him out.

One person, according to Corona, wanted him out of the SC to stop the distribution of the sprawling Hacienda Luisita which the High Court had ordered done immediately.

Corona said another is a fellow SC magistrate who wants to succeed him in case the Senate seating as impeachment court convicted him.

Third was a losing candidate in the last vice-presidential election.

“Sila pong tatlo ang nagsasabwatan para mapatalsik ako sa pwesto,” he said.

Sources disclosed that Malacañang has a shortlist to replace Corona. They are Senior Justice Antonio Carpio and Justice Lourdes Sereno.

Only five

Corona also vehemently denied allegations by the House prosecutors that he owns at least 45 real properties mostly in upscale places like in Taguig.

He stressed that contrary to allegations, what he admitted owning is only five properties.

Corona admitted that the figures were obviously jacked up to make it appear that he acquired the supposedly 45 properties through dubious means.

He pointed out that some of the properties were non-existent, owned by his parents-in-law, son-in-law, and by persons he doesn’t know.

Corona said that some of the properties being branded as his own in reality belong to his son-in-law who is a doctor, and has the means to purchase them.

Another property, which is only 200 square meters, belongs to his daughter “who is a successful physical therapist in the United States.

“Why won’t she have the means to buy a 200-square-meter lot?” he asked.

As to the five properties that he owns, Corona said these properties were lawfully declared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

“All these were acquired through hard work and not through fraudulent means,” he declared.

The list of the 45 properties, Corona said, incidentally came from the Land Registration Authority (LRA) which is an attached agency of the Department of Justice.

At the same time, Corona defended the doctorate degree he earned from the prestigious University of Sto. Tomas. “They (my critics) were all just jealous,” he stressed.

Corona vowed that he will not resign and will face the impeachment trial at the Senate. He expressed belief that at the end, he will be vindicated by being acquitted by the impeachment court.