PSBank manager: QC rep asked for 'help' in leaked Corona bank docs

By KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA News

Published February 16, 2012 4:33pm

UPDATED 5:20 p.m. - Anabelle Tiongson, the manager of Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) Katipunan Avenue branch in Quezon City (QC) testified on Thursday that QC Rep. Jorge "Bolet" Banal asked her to "help" him with the bank records of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

During the Corona impeachment trial on Thursday, Senator Loren Legarda quizzed Tiongson about how copies of Corona's alleged bank accounts ended up in the hands of the prosecution panel.

While Tiongson denied giving anyone information about Corona's bank accounts, she admitted that someone approached her about it.

"There was certain person who approached me, he went to the branch...Congressman Banal," Tiongson said during the trial.

"He did not ask me to produce anything, He just asked if I could help," Tiongson explained.

Banal has been a member of the Liberal Party (LP), party of President Benigno Aquino III, since 2002. He is also a member of the secretariat committee of the prosecution panel.

Before becoming a lawmaker, he was councilor of the third district of QC in 2004 and 2007 and was even elected as one of the most outstanding councilors in the Philippines.

Banal also used to be a banker with an undergraduate degree from the University of Santo Tomas and a master's degree in public administration from the University of the Philippines.

His website may be viewed here. http://www.boletbanal.com/

Bank documents

Tiongson said when Banal approached him on January 31, he already had photocopies of bank documents (specimen signature cards) similar to those attached to the subpoena request submitted by the prosecution to the impeachment court, which she had earlier branded as fake.

"He showed me a photocopy similar to the one in [the] Annex [of the subpoena] He was partly covering it so I [really] couldn't see anything," Tiongson said.

"Initially I did not see [the name but] apparently it was under the name of Chief Justice Corona," she added.

On that day, Tiongson said Banal wanted her to "guide" him in certain items in the documents he was showing. She said one of the things she was asking her was whether some of the symbols were dollar signs or not.

"It wasn't really clear what he wanted from me. He said that maybe we could help him or I could help in my capacity," she said.

Tiongson said she attempted to ask him where he got the documents but that she only got an indirect answer.

"[He said] I will tell you as soon as you help us, something like that [or] if you help us, I will tell you, something like that. [He also said] so many people are helping us," she said.

"I said I'm sorry, that's not possible. When is said I couldn't help him, he just left," she said.

When Banal left, the bank manager said she immediately checked their records of the bank documents and that the documents were there.

Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, one of the prosecutors, earlier claimed that an anonymous lady handed over to him the same records, which showed the chief magistrate having $700,000 in deposits.

The prosecutors attached the document to their subpoena request submitted to the impeachment court on February 3, 2012.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, for her part, asked Tiongson whether she was sure that Banal was really the one she saw inside the bank.

Tiongson answered there was "no doubt" in her mind that she was approached by Banal because she had met him once before and that he was also identified by another bank officer as the lawmaker.

Santiago asked that Banal be subpoenaed to the impeachment trial, which Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, presiding officer of the court, granted.

However, later on during the trial, Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III said some senators asked that they just "invite" Banal. The motion was granted. — RSJ/VVP, GMA News

Tags: coronaimpeachment, jorgebanal