Day 33 Corona trial highlights: Senator-judges berate LRA chief

Published March 22, 2012 1:12am

Cuevas returns to impeachment trial

After two days of absence, defense counsel Serafin Cuevas on Wednesday returned to the impeachment trial following a bout with vertigo. At the start of the proceedings, he expressed his apologies and said he wanted to make it on record that there was “nothing intentional” in his absence.
Senate President and presiding judge Juan Ponce Enrile said the apology was not necessary and said he hoped Cuevas had recovered from his illness.

Evidence required on ownership of Corona properties

During the deliberations on the prosecution’s contention that impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona allegedly owns 21 of the 45 properties earlier listed by the Land Registration Authority (LRA), defense counsel Noel Lazaro maintained that many of the titles have been cancelled.
However, prosecutor Winston Ginez answered in the affirmative when Enrile asked him if they maintain that Corona owns 21 properties. Ginez added that some properties placed under the names of Corona’s children are actually owned by the Chief Justice.
When Enrile asked both camps to state their assertions in a memorandum, defense counsel Cuevas said these should be subject to evidence instead to prove their validity. Enrile agreed with Cuevas.

LRA chief berated for “negligence”

During clarificatory questioning, Senator-judge Miriam Defensor-Santiago berated LRA administrator Eulalio Diaz III for coming up with the list of Corona’s supposed properties through a computerized search in the agency’s database without checking its veracity. She also criticized Diaz for not asking the prosecution its purpose for requesting the list.
Diaz replied that the LRA does not “do investigative work” and normally uses the transfer certificate of title as a guide in database searches. He maintained that it was not his fault if the list is inaccurate.
Santiago accused Diaz of violating the Civil Code for coming up with the list, said both the LRA chief and the prosecution team may be guilty of “gross negligence” for their actions.
Senator-judge Jinggoy Estrada asked Diaz if he was in cahoots with the prosecution in making it appear that Corona has 45 properties, or if he simply made a mistake.
In response, Diaz said, “I won't accept that I'm in cahoots with prosecution. I also can't readily accept I made a mistake.”
Estrada chided Diaz for making the mistake of including titles that were either canceled or registered in someone else’s name. He advised the LRA chief to rectify his mistake to the media, which reported the LRA list on Corona’s alleged 45 properties after a Jan. 12 press conference of the prosecution team.

Flip-flopping of LRA chief baffles senator-judges

When Senator-judge Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked Diaz on why he accessed the LRA's system to search for Corona's properties even though there were rules governing its use, the LRA chief said that he was merely acting on the request of the prosecution team, knowing that the information would be used for the impeachment trial.
However, Senator-judge Loren Legarda reminded Diaz that he had earlier told Senator Santiago that he did not know the list would be used for the impeachment. Both Legarda and Marcos expressed confusion regarding the contradictory statements of Diaz.
Diaz replied that he knew the list would be used for the impeachment trial.
The LRA chief was questioned once more when he initially said it took him two to three days to prepare the list, but said later that he already had a prepared document when the prosecution asked for it. Enrile chided Diaz for his confusing statements.

- Reported by Kimberly Jane Tan and Mark Meruenas/YA, GMA News