“I’M NOT stupid!” Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona vehemently remonstrated against insinuations of “many discrepancies in (his) SALNs – statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth – from 2002 to 2010,” in the course of his accession to the pinnacle of the Judiciary and descent to the Impeachment Court last week.

Initially, at the hearing presided by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the impeachment prosecution was unable to persuade Enriqueta Vidal, clerk of court at the SC, to convey to the court the true copies of the Corona’s SALNs she brought with her per the subpoena duces tecum.

But the prosecutor’s failing to the delight of the defense panel led by former SC Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas would be shortlived. Grilled by Senator-Judge Franklin Drilon, Vidal hesitantly but ultimately yielded The CJ’s SALNs legally in her keeping as SC clerk of court.

Assailed by its own perception of bias on the part of Drilon, who earlier extracted information from Taguig City register of deeds Randy Rotaquio about the CJ’s acting as attorney-in-fact for daughter Maria Charina – Cueva’s team pressed for the Ilonggo senator’s inhibition from the impeachment proceedings.

Drilon categorically said he “will not inhibit because the motion has no basis,” unpurturbed by the charged of partiality, “No as in I feel nothing.”

On the other hand, the prosecution averred “it is beyond cavil that this turn of events has put in question the integrity of the proceedings and the members of the Impeachment Court.”

Then again, if Drilon could be said to be biased, the probability of his partiality to the truth may well interject at once. Testifying on Day 7 of the CJ’s impeachment, OK Jose, yesterday BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said she noticed “a lot of discrepancies” in the CJ’s SALN.

After a perusal of  pertinent documents, Henares disclosed that Corona’s daughter Maria Charina and Clara apparently both bought multimillion-peso worth of properties for all their lack of capability to do so. How could Carla, with a mere P8,476 taxable income in 2009, have bought from her mother Cristina the P18-million, 1,200 square-meter lot in upscale La Vista village in Quezon City?

Or, for that matter, how Ma. Charina, “one-time” taxpayer according to Henares, acquired the multi-million-peso McKinley Hill property from Megaworld Corp.? “I wouldn’t be surprised,” remarked Jose, “if looking at the CJ’s and family’s SALNs have raised Ms. Henares’s eyebrows up to the ceiling.

At the end of the hearing yesterday, JPE’s cool, Jose chose to say “impregnable equanimity”, somehow put it to lighthearted closure. “You’re all too jumpy,” said Manong Johnny, sending laughter rolling across the gallery.

And I see no cause for alarm over what Drilon and colleague Ralph Recto may be up to. It’s the truth, stupid.