(Updated 9:57 p.m) Chief Justice Renato Corona closed three deposit accounts with PSBank on Dec. 21, 2011, the day he was impeached by the House of Representatives, bank executives revealed on Thursday, a month after the impeachment trial started in January.
 
PSBank-Katipunan branch manager Annabelle Tiongson submitted Thursday certified bank records showing details of Corona's five time deposits between 2007 and 2010.
 
While three of the accounts were closed in 2008, 2009, and 2010, two of the accounts (089-121019523 and 089-121021681) were closed on Dec. 12, 2011.
 
The five accounts were covered by a subpoena issued by the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, upon the request of the prosecution.
 
The first of two accounts closed on Dec. 12, 2011 (089-121019523) was opened on Dec. 22, 2009 with an opening balance of P8.5 million.
 
The second account, on the other hand, was opened on Sept. 1, 2010 with an opening balance of P7,090,099.45.
  
Tiongson also brought with her a certified verification statement from PSBank that shows that Corona does not have any "financial instruments" like investment, management, or trust and mutual accounts with the bank as of February 2012.


 
A third account
 
After Tiongson finished her testimony, PSBank president Pascual Garcia III took his turn at the witness stand during which he revealed that there was a third account — a fixed-term deposit — under Corona’s name not covered by the subpoena but was also closed on Dec.12, 2011.
 
The time deposit account was opened on June 29, 2011 with a P17-million placement, Garcia testified.
 
Senator Jinggoy Estrada questioned the timing of the closing of Corona’s bank accounts before the impeachment court.
 
“Ayoko maglagay ng malisya pero nagsususpetsa talaga ako,” the senator said.
 
Demetrio Custodio, one of the private prosecutors, meanwhile noted that the timing of closing the bank accounts seemed to show “an attempt to conceal certain amounts.”
 
“This will show that it is in preparation for the impeachment trial,” he said.

During cross examination, lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas tried to point out that Tiongson's knowledge about Corona's bank records were hearsay.
 
"Can you vouch for the accuracy and verity of the entries since you were not there [when they were made]?" the lawyer said.
 
Tiongson said she could not because she did not personally enter the data into the documents, and that she was not yet with PSBank-Katipunan when some of the entries were made.
 
"It is very clear now [that] all your testimonies are based only on what you found on the records, they are not based on your personal knowledge," said Cuevas.
 
For her part, Sen. Miriam Santiago stood up and helped the prosecution "lay the ground" so that Tiongson's testimony would not fall under hearsay.

Not his money

But lawyers of the impeached chief magistrate told reporters at a briefing Thursday the money deposited in the three accounts belongs to Basa-Guidote Enterprise (BGE) Inc.
 
Basa-Guidote Enterprise is a company owned by the family of Cristina Corona, the chief justice’s wife.
 
However, Corona’s lawyers did not explain why the money was deposited in PSBank accounts under the chief justice’s name. "Ipapaliwanag namin sa tamang panahon," said lawyer and spokesperson Tranquil Salvador III.
 
The Corona family's decision to withdraw the money from the three PSBank accounts was related to his impeachment, Salvador noted.

In relation to Article II

Sen. Loren Legarda wanted to know what was the significance of the bank accounts that were closed on Dec. 12 in relation to Article II of the impeachment complaint.
 
"If the purpose is to show this [amount] was not included in the SALN... it is erroneous, it is irregular," Cuevas noted.
 
Senator Franklin Drilon, however, pointed out that one of the accounts closed on Dec. 12, 2011 existed as of December 2010 and thus should have been included in Corona's SALN.

For betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution and graft and corruption, 188 lawmakers on Dec. 12 voted to impeach Corona.
 
The impeachment court is now tackling Article II of the impeachment complaint, which accuses Corona of failing to disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth as required under the constitution. — with a report by Kimberly Tan/RSJ/KG/VS, GMA News