Sandiganbayan asked to summon PSBank manager in Renato Corona's case

The Office of the Ombudsman’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has asked the Sandiganbayan Second Division to summon a representative of Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) to testify on several documents involving the peso and dollar accounts of former Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona.

In a motion submitted to the Second Division on Wednesday, state prosecutors Agnes Autencio-Daquis and Marites Delfin-Santos have asked the court to compel PSBank Katipunan Branch manager Mary Anabelle Tiongson to appear before the OSP office in Agham Road, Quezon City on February 11, 2016 at 3 p.m.

The OSP said Tiongson will be made to testify on the authenticity of several bank documents under the possession of the Ombudsman as compared to the original ones that PS Bank may have.

Among the documents that Tiongson will be asked to testify on was a letter sent by PS Bank to Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares dated June 4, 2012.

In the said letter signed by PS Bank president Pascual Garcia III, it was confirmed that Corona had peso and dollar accounts with the bank until December 2011.

Corona and his wife Cristina are facing a P130-million civil forfeiture case before the Second Division, which stemmed from their alleged misdeclaration of assets from 2001 to 2011.

Attached in the letter were certifications indicating the transactions of the two peso bank accounts and two dollar bank accounts of Corona with PS Bank Katipunan branch from the time they were opened until they were closed.

The OSP said Tiongson will also be asked to testify on bank certifications.

Based on one certification, Corona opened a peso time deposit account with PS Bank Katipunan branch on September 1, 2010 with an opening balance of P7.090 million. The account was closed on December 12, 2011 with a balance of P7.398 million.

Another certification revealed that Corona also opened a peso time deposit account with PS Bank Katipunan branch on December 22, 2009 with opening balance of P8.500 million and was closed also on December 12, 2011 with a balance of P12.989 million.

Two other certifications indicate that Corona also opened a dollar savings account and a dollar time deposit account with PS Bank Katipunan both on October 31, 2008.

Based on the certification, the dollar savings account had a balance of $3,927 as of December 31, 2010 but the account no longer had any balance at the time it was closed on December 15, 2011.

The dollar time deposit account, on the other hand, had an opening balance of $768,733 which went up to $769,681 at the time it was closed also on December 15, 2011.

Just last week, the OSP had also asked the Sandiganbayan to summon country representatives of German financial company Deutsche Bank AG to testify on another dollar account of Corona which was closed on December 16, 2011.

It was earlier reported that Corona emptied several of his bank accounts before an impeachment case was filed against him at the House of Representatives in December 2011 in connection with the alleged misdeclarations in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) for 2001 to 2011.

Corona’s impeachment trial at the Senate started in January 2012. In a vote of 20-3, the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, convicted Corona in May 2012.

Aside from civil forfeiture, Corona is also facing a case of perjury and violation of Code of Conduct for Public Officials before another division of the Sandiganbayan also in connection with the alleged misdeclaration of his assets. —ALG, GMA News