House prosecution presses for opening of alleged Corona $ account
The prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona claimed on Friday that dollar deposit accounts—like the one it has alleged is in the name of the chief magistrate—are not covered by the country’s bank secrecy law.
"Hindi porket nasa foreign denominated deposit ay exempted na ito from the secrecy exemption otherwise ang gagawin lang ng mga tiwali ay ililipat ang pera sa peso at ilalagay nila sa foreign currency," Representative Romero ‘Miro’ Federico Quimbo said in the media briefing.
According to the Bank Secrecy Law:
The prosecution has earlier asked the Senate as the impeachment court trying Corona to open the bank accounts of the chief magistrate, especially after prosecutors claimed to have discovered a dollar account in the Philippine Savings Bank allegedly in Corona’s name with an initial deposit of US$700,000.
The House prosecutors also claimed there is another dollar account for which Corona is supposedly the sole signatory.
Quimbo was the focus of the ire of the Corona defense panel, who were at another media briefing.
"If he [Quimbo] thinks he has mastery of the case, I challenge him, why not participate in the case and face (Justice Serafin) Cuevas," said lawyer Rico Paolo Quicho, one of the defense spokespersons.
Quimbo is on record as having divulged the Land Registration Authority (LRA) list of 45 alleged real properties in the name of Corona, his wife and other family members,
In Day 11 of the impeachment trial, while responding to questions posed by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, lead prosecutor Rep Niel Tupas denied that the House panel revealed the list of the 45 real properties to the media.
The camp of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona on Friday said it does not intend to take any legal action against the House prosecution for denying it had revealed the LRA list.
"We will not take action (against the prosecution). Sapat na na malaman ng mga mamamyan ang totoo... Hayaan na po natin ang publiko na magpasya," said Atty. Tranquil Salvador III.
"Sana matuto na ang both sides pati na ang publiko huwag basta-basta naniniwala sa mga pinipresentang ebidensiya umano," said another defense spokesperson, Atty. Karen Jimeno. — with Mark D. Merueñas / ELR, GMA News
"Hindi porket nasa foreign denominated deposit ay exempted na ito from the secrecy exemption otherwise ang gagawin lang ng mga tiwali ay ililipat ang pera sa peso at ilalagay nila sa foreign currency," Representative Romero ‘Miro’ Federico Quimbo said in the media briefing.
According to the Bank Secrecy Law:
"All deposits of whatever nature with banks or banking institutions in the Philippines including investments in bonds issued by the Government of the Philippines, its political subdivisions and its instrumentalities, are hereby considered as of an absolutely confidential nature and may not be examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government official, bureau or office, except upon written permission of the depositor, or in cases of impeachment, or upon order of a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials, or in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of the litigation."
The prosecution has earlier asked the Senate as the impeachment court trying Corona to open the bank accounts of the chief magistrate, especially after prosecutors claimed to have discovered a dollar account in the Philippine Savings Bank allegedly in Corona’s name with an initial deposit of US$700,000.
The House prosecutors also claimed there is another dollar account for which Corona is supposedly the sole signatory.
Quimbo was the focus of the ire of the Corona defense panel, who were at another media briefing.
"If he [Quimbo] thinks he has mastery of the case, I challenge him, why not participate in the case and face (Justice Serafin) Cuevas," said lawyer Rico Paolo Quicho, one of the defense spokespersons.
Quimbo is on record as having divulged the Land Registration Authority (LRA) list of 45 alleged real properties in the name of Corona, his wife and other family members,
In Day 11 of the impeachment trial, while responding to questions posed by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, lead prosecutor Rep Niel Tupas denied that the House panel revealed the list of the 45 real properties to the media.
The camp of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona on Friday said it does not intend to take any legal action against the House prosecution for denying it had revealed the LRA list.
"We will not take action (against the prosecution). Sapat na na malaman ng mga mamamyan ang totoo... Hayaan na po natin ang publiko na magpasya," said Atty. Tranquil Salvador III.
"Sana matuto na ang both sides pati na ang publiko huwag basta-basta naniniwala sa mga pinipresentang ebidensiya umano," said another defense spokesperson, Atty. Karen Jimeno. — with Mark D. Merueñas / ELR, GMA News
We welcome healthy discussions and friendly debate! Please click Flag to alert us of a comment that may be abusive or threatening. Read our full comment policy here.
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
