Burgundy exec confirms sale of P3-M condo unit in QC to Corona

By ANDREO CALONZO, GMA News

Published February 2, 2012 5:07pm

(Updated 6:31 p.m.) An official from real estate developer Burgundy Realty Corp. on Thursday confirmed the sale of a P3.4-million condominium unit to Chief Justice Renato Corona in October 2000.

During the continuation of Corona’s impeachment trial, Gregg Gregonia, vice-president of the firm, presented a statement of account showing the chief justice's purchase of a condominium unit at the 21st floor of the One Burgundy Plaza along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.

The witness also said that Corona bought a parking lot in the same building for P450,000.

Gregonia also presented receipts as proof that Corona paid for the condominium unit and parking lot on installment basis.

Corona did not declare ownership of any parking lot in Quezon City in all his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) from 2002 to 2010.

In his SALNs from 2003 to 2010, the chief justice declared that he owns a condominium unit in Quezon City with an assessed value of P276,320 and a current fair market value of P921,080. He did not state the acquisition cost of the unit in all these SALNs. In the same documents, Corona stated that the condominium unit was declared only in 2003 despite the purchase in 2000 because “the title was transferred only upon full payment in 2003.”

Gregonia was presented as witness to support Article II of the impeachment complaint, which accuses Corona of inaccuracies in his SALN.

‘Do not testify for the witness’

During Gregonia’s direct examination, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, presiding officer of the trial, warned private prosecutor Clarence Jandoc against stating information that is supposed to come from the witness.

“The witness has already said the receipts are in relation to the purchase of a unit by Corona… You are going too far. You are already testifying for the witness,” Enrile told Jandoc during the trial.

The Senate President also cautioned Jandoc against asking leading questions to Gregonia.

Jandoc, for his part, said that he is only making a manifestation about the receipts marked as proof of Corona’s purchase of the condominium unit and the parking lot. Not party to the transaction During the cross-examination, lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas tried to prove that Gregonia had no personal knowledge on the transactions he discussed before the impeachment court. “Maliwanag na maliwanag na kahit wala kayong alam, kayo pa rin pumunta rito,” Cuevas told the witness during the trial. The defense lawyer also said that Gregonia was not the one summoned by the Senate impeachment court to the trial, but Burgundy president Regelio Cerafica. Gregonia however said that he was authorized by the firm’s president to attend the trial on his behalf, since Cerafica was abroad. The witness added that he only went to the trial to attest to the authenticity of the documents involving Corona’s purchase of the condominium unit and the parking lot. “Hindi ho pumasok sa akin na magsinungaling at hindi po ako magsisinungaling,” Gregonia said. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News

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