Prosecution: Corona opened $700K bank account in 2008

(Updated 2:50 p.m.) The House prosecution team has urged the Senate to look into Chief Justice Renato Corona’s bank account after an “anonymous source" provided the panel with documents showing that the chief magistrate opened a bank account in 2008 for over $700,000 (about P34 million).   In a supplemental request to summon Corona’s bank records submitted to the Senate last Friday, the prosecution presented a customer identification and specimen signature card from the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) to the impeachment court.   The document indicated that a certain Renato Geronado Corona opened a bank account with an initial deposit of $700,000. It also showed that the depositor wrote “income and investments” as the source of the money.   The prosecution, however, noted in its request that it “cannot vouch for the authenticity of the said documents.”   “The prosecution believes that it is its duty to submit the documents to this honorable impeachment court, as they may have a bearing on the court’s resolution of the pending request for subpoena,” the supplemental request read. 'Fishing expedition' But defense spokesperson Karen Jimeno said the prosecutors were again embarking on a fishing expedition.   “Sufficient basis”   Despite the uncertainty on the authenticity of the bank documents on Corona’s dollar account, the prosecution team said that there is “sufficient basis and reason” to look into Corona’s bank accounts.   The panel said there is “great disparity” between the amounts indicated in Corona’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) and the amounts in checks the chief magistrate has been issuing for the past years.   The prosecution, for example, said that Corona issued checks worth P9.8 million from BPI in 2008, although he declared only P2.5 million in cash and investments in his SALN in the same year.   “The documentary evidence presented thus far indicate that respondent has bank accounts with funds which are greatly in excess of the amounts declared in his SALNs,” the prosecution said.   Last week, the prosecution panel requested the Senate to summon bank executives from PSBank and the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to bring documents on Corona’s bank accounts.   Lead prosecutor Niel Tupas Jr. reiterated the prosecution’s request during the trial last Thursday, but Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile asked the prosecutors to justify their subpoena requests.   The defense panel has opposed the prosecution's requests for subpoenas, saying that these may violate Corona's right to privacy and certain laws governing bank deposits.   The Senate is expected to decide on Monday whether or not to grant the prosecution’s request to look into Corona’s bank account. — with Rouchelle Dinglasan/KBK/RSJ, GMA News