Rep. Tupas gets barely passing grade from 'teacher' Miriam

Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., the head of the House prosecution team in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, was “lectured” by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday — and was given the barely passing grade of 3. “I will give you a grade of 3, I passed you but I warned you,” Santiago, a former law professor, told Tupas after questioning him regarding “irrelevant” portions in the impeachment complaint. “Other cases [cited in the complaint] are irrelevant. You cannot cite them. Betrayal of public trust, iba-iba pala ang pinagsasasabi mo,” the feisty Santiago added. Santiago, in one of their exchanges, asked Tupas: “I ask you personally, ano ang benchmark mo that would constitute betrayal of public trust?” Betrayal of public trust? The lead prosecutor replied, “‘Pag sobra [ang pera] sa dineclare niya sa SALN (Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth), betrayal of public trust na po ‘yun.” When an obviously irked Santiago asked for an exact figure, Tupas replied, “P31 million is a clear case of betrayal of public trust.” “In 2007, he (Corona) declared in his SALN is only P2.7 million. However, we found out that he has P5 million to P7 million in the bank. In 2010, he declared in his SALN P3.5 million. However, he has P31 million in 2010 so far,” Tupas explained. Santiago was not appeased. “Suriin natin ang sarili natin, ibig sabihin kung may P35 million ka sa bangko may betrayal of public trust ka? Hindi lahat sa atin dito may clean hands,” she said. Tupas tried to interject a manifestation twice while Santiago was asking a question, but he was answered with a “no” twice. Santiago was among the 13 senators who on Monday voted that the Senate, acting as the impeachment court, abide by the Supreme Court order preventing the chamber from examining Corona’s dollar accounts. She feared that opening the accounts to scrutiny may lead to a “bank run.” Bank run “No one will deposit unless confidentiality is guaranteed,” Santiago said. “Business leaders fear that through the impeachment trial accounts shall be opened.” Tupas answered that only the accounts of Corona shall be scrutinized. “[In lieu] of public policy of accountability and transparency, [Corona] is an exception. Itong kay Chief Justice Corona lang po ang kailangang buksan.” Santiago then recalled that a bank run occurred when a bank official testified in the impeachment of former President Joseph Estrada. “Noong impeachment [kay Estrada] may isang opisyal ng bangko ang nagdadadaldal  tungkol sa akusado noon, nagkaroon ng massive withdrawal, a bank run.” She added: “Will the prosecution guarantee that the Philippine banking industry will not have a hardship after this incident? Kung pwede pa lang iladlad ang mga dineposito ko, ilalagay ko na lang sa bangko na ‘di niya ibabalita sa buong mundo ang pera ko.” — Rouchelle Dinglasan/KBK/KG, GMA News