Ombudsman may file charges vs. Corona if he is acquitted

By Mark Merueñas, GMA News

Published May 15, 2012 5:30pm

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Tuesday said her office will not hesitate to file charges against Chief Justice Renato Corona if ever he is acquitted in the ongoing impeachment trial.

Morales made the statement during the trial after she was pressed by Senator-judge Miriam Santiago if the Office of the Ombudsman was investigating Corona on his alleged dollar accounts. The one-year ban on the filing of an impeachment case against Corona expires in December. If an impeachment case is filed against a government official, no other similar case may be filed against him for one year. The impeachment complaint against Corona was filed by the House of Representatives on December 12, 2011, for charges of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and graft and corruption. The one-year ban ends on December 12, 2012. The Ombudsman explained that new charges will be filed against Corona only "if warranted."

Citing Section 22 of Republic Act 6770 or the Ombudsman Act of 1989, Santiago said the only purpose of investigating an impeachable officer is to file a verified complaint if warranted.

"Madame senator, if the charges presently being investigated by the Ombudsman are not included in the impeachment charges, then I don't see any reason why there should be no chance to file [another set of] charges," Morales said.

After Morales said this, Santiago addressed the defense panel: "In that case, we are placing the defendant on notice. You can expect another complaint for that is what the law says... you are so warned."

During re-direct examination, Morales told the impeachment court that she could not tell whether Corona's dollar accounts were classified as savings, time deposit, or checking accounts.

"They are supposed to be bank accounts. Whether they are current, savings, I wouldn't know. It is not indicated in the data I gathered," Morales said.

At one point, Morales called the attention of one of the defense lawyers who was whispering something to lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas, who was conducting the re-direct exam.

"Are you coaching him?!" Morales suddenly barked.

"I was wondering if you were a witness or a lawyer. It should be the same for all, no coaching. That should apply to all participants in this drama," she said.

Morales said she personally supervised the preparation of the PowerPoint presentation showing Corona's alleged 82 "circuitous" dollar accounts in five banks.

She also said that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report, from which the presentation was based, was not "officially filed" with her office. Rather, it was personally handed to her by AMLC director Vic Aquino because of the report's "confidential" nature.

Asked if she is certain that the contents of the AMLC report are accurate, Morales said: "I would not have known that because the report was furnished to me by AMLC."

When Cuevas asked if that was beyond her comprehension, Morales shot back: "Beyond my comprehension? It might be beyond my competence but not beyond my comprehension." - VVP, GMA News

Tags: corona, coronaimpeachment