(Updated 9:34 p.m.) The House prosecution team on Thursday said that Chief Justice Renato Corona may have lied under oath when he allegedly undervalued his properties in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs). Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo, one of the prosecution panel’s spokesmen, said the testimonies of Taguig and Quezon City registers of deeds revealed that the value of Corona’s condominium units are higher than what he declared in his SALNs. “
Sinusumpaan ito. The SALN is under oath.
Kung hindi ka nagsasabi ng totoo, you are guilty of perjury,” Quimbo said at a press briefing.
During Corona’s impeachment trial on Thursday, Taguig City Register of Deeds Randy Rutaquio and Quezon City Register of Deeds Carlo Alcantara testified to authenticate the condominium certificates of title (CCT) and absolute deeds of sale of Corona’s assets. Corona said in his SALN in 2010 that he owns P9-million (one P2.4 million and P6.8 million) worth of condominium units in Taguig City, but the prosecution panel claims that based on documents they presented as evidence, these properties at McKinley Hill and Bellagio I Tower are worth P6.1 and P14.5 million, respectively. The prosecution, however, has yet to present a witness who could categorically state that Corona’s properties in Taguig are undervalued in his SALN. “At the very least,
kung nagsasabi ka ng totoo, hindi ka maglalagay ng halaga na mas mababa sa halaga sa deed of absolute sale,” Quimbo said.
Other properties After Rutaquio, the prosecution presented Alcantara, who brought and testified on the authenticity of CCTs and transfer certificates of title (TCT) supposedly covering the alleged properties of the Corona family in his jurisdiction. Alcantara detailed the existence of:
- an P11-million property sold to Corona's wife Cristina in 2003 (TCT No. 004-20100000410)
- an P18-million property in La Vista sold by Erlinda Castro to Corona's daughter Carla Castillo (TCT No. 004-2010007780 from TCT No. 88985)
- a P15-million property in Diliman sold by Myrla Nelad-Bajar to Corona's son-in-law Constantino Castillo III in 2009 (TCT No. N-125683)
- a P10.5-million property sold to by Daniel G. Encia to Castillo in 2003 (TCT No. RT-20758)
- an P8-million property sold by spouses Rhodel V. Rivera and Amelia Rivera to Corona and his wife (TCT No. 004-20100001387)
- a P2.7-million property sold to Corona and his wife (CCT No. N-35812 from CCT No. N-11168)
According to Corona's SALN, he has only two properties in Quezon City — one house and lot worth P7.1 million "donated" to him in 1970, and a condominium worth P921,000 bought in 1997. But lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas, while cross-examining Alcantara, moved to strike the enumeration of properties supposedly bought or sold to Castillo, saying these are "irrelevant" to the charges against the chief justice. Senate President Juan Ponce, for his part, asked the prosecution to first "establish the connection" between Corona and Castillo before proceeding. The prosecution then presented as witness, Atty. Seyfred Garcia, register of deeds of Marikina. He brought with him 10 TCTs of alleged properties owned by Corona in the city. But one of the TCTs was not previously marked by the impeachment court, prompting Enrile to adjourn session and cut short the prosecution’s examination of the witness.
Suspicions only At a press briefing after the trial, defense spokesperson Karen Jimeno said that there was "no basis" to say that Corona's properties were undervalued. “I don’t think at this moment, we can say that (there is perjury)
kasi ‘yung testimony
nila pang-mark
lang at kung ano lang ‘yung functions
nila so there is not enough basis to say that,
na pwede magka-perjury," she said. Jose Roy III, one of Corona's counsels, said the members of the prosecution should explain why the properties are supposedly undervalued. “If you are saying it's worth P100 million, how do you know it is worth P100 million? Have you heard? You cannot take people to court on rumor and gossip. My goodness!" he said during the same briefing. The defense had also earlier objected to the presentation of evidence against Corona, saying that the prosecution’s allegations that the chief magistrate amassed ill-gotten wealth while in the Supreme Court were based merely on suspicions and not on facts. In the middle of cross-examining Rutaquio, Cuevas said there was “no valid allegation” that Corona, who is widely associated with former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, accumulated and concealed illegal wealth. “There must be no reception of evidence because there is no compliance with the rule of pleading… We are trying the chief justice of the Philippines on allegations based on suspicion,” Cuevas said. He questioned the wording of the impeachment complaint, which states that Corona is “reported” to have concealed some of his properties. The complaint also said that the chief justice is “suspected and accused of having accumulated ill-gotten wealth.” Quimbo, at a separate press briefing, had said that the pieces of evidence that have so far been presented by the prosecution already raise doubt about Corona’s honesty. “Obviously, it will be very difficult if we have a chief justice who is accused, by his own writings, of lying under oath.” Corona is currently being tried for betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and graft and corruption.
— with Kimberly Jane Tan and Rouchelle Dinglasan/KBK/ELR/KG, GMA News 
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