SC stops Senate impeachment court from examining Corona dollar accounts

(Updated 9:21 p.m.) The Supreme Court  on Thursday voted 8-5 to temporarily stop the Senate impeachment court from revealing the details of Chief Justice Renato Corona's foreign currency bank accounts, Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez announced at a press briefing. Marquez, who is also the Supreme Court spokesman, said Corona inhibited from the voting, which was presided over by SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. "Our information is that the TRO (temporary restraining order) is being issued versus the Senate subpoena on the dollar accounts and (making it) refrain from disclosing the accounts," Marquez said. "The chief justice inhibited. He left the conference room when the case was being deliberated," Marquez added. How the justices voted Those who voted for the TRO were Justices Teresita de Castro, Arturo Brion, Roberto Abad, Jose Perez, Lucas Bersamin, Martin Villarama Jr., Bienvenido Reyes and Jose Mendoza, while those who voted against it were Justices Antonio Carpio, Mariano del Castillo, Diosdado Peralta, Maria Lourdes Sereno, and Estela Perlas-Bernabe. Aside from Corona, Justice Presbitero Velasco also took no part in the voting. The prosecution is accusing Corona of maintaining dollar accounts in PSBank containing at least US$700,000, or roughly P30 million. Positive note The defense, on the other hand, welcomed the TRO as a "positive note." "Ang TRO na ito ay isang patunay na nire-recognize ng bansa ang confidentiality sa foreign currency deposits," defense spokesman Tranquil Salvador III told reporters during a break in Thursday's proceedings. The prosecution, on the other hand, said it was “disheartened” by the high court's TRO.   Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, one of the prosecution’s spokesmen, said the decision may encourage corrupt officials to conceal ill-gotten wealth through dollar accounts.   “This absurd situation would then make it easy for corrupt public individuals to escape accountability by simply depositing their illegally-stashed money into dollar accounts thus, keeping their so-called fruits of corruption, effectively hidden,” he said.   “If it were so, it is like saying to anyone, be they public or private individuals: kapag corrupt ka, magdollar account ka,” he added.   Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, for his part, said he is considering impeaching the eight justices who voted in favor of the TRO.   He said he will file a resolution and consult the House leadership to gauge if an impeachment complaint against the magistrates will prosper. Malacañang, through presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, described the Supreme Court decision as “a brazen effort to derail the proceedings.” “While the supporters of the Chief Justice clearly lacked the numbers to go even further and try to stop the proceedings, the TRO handed down by the Court is a brazen effort to derail the proceedings,” Lacierda said. PSBank petition The ruling stemmed from the petition filed by the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) asking the Supreme Court to stop the Senate impeachment court from examining Corona's dollar accounts. PSBank said revealing the contents of the accounts is in violation of the Foreign Currency Deposit Act, which only allows the divulging of dollar account records upon the consent of the depositor. As for Corona's separate petition for certiorari and prohibition seeking to stop the impeachment trial altogether, Marquez said the magistrates have yet to take it up. "There is no action yet since no justice is in charge yet. Let's wait for other orders," Marquez said. The court spokesman said the case was originally raffled off to Justice Presbitero Velasco, but he inhibited because his son is a member of the House of Representatives, which filed the impeachment complaint against Corona. Corona's petition included a prayer for the issuance of writ of injunction and a TRO, which Marquez said "will be resolved later." As for the Senate ruling junking a request to subpoena four of the SC's justices, Marquez said the court "took notice of the ruling." "The court is presently drafting guidelines [on the matter]," Marquez said. Senate obeys SC on TRO The Senate, meanwhile, immediately deferred tackling Corona's dollar accounts as a result of the TRO. "In deference to the Supreme Court, the interpreter of the Constitution and the guardian of our basic rights guarranteed by the Bill of Rights, this chair would suggest and recommend to this impeachment court and the two sides of the case and the panel to take heed and let us discuss other issues other than foreign currency deposits because of the presence of the TRO from the SC. We will discuss this in due time," Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding officer, said during Thursday's impeachment trial. Senator Panfilo Lacson, for his part, suggested that they tackle it during their caucus next Monday. — with Kimberly Jane Tan, Andreo C. Calonzo, Rouchelle Dinglasan and Amita O. Legaspi/KBK/HS, GMA News