Prosecution accuses Renato Corona of delaying perjury trial

The prosecution in the perjury case filed against former Chief Justice Renato Corona has accused him of purposely delaying his arraignment before the Sandiganbayan Third Division.

In a 26-page opposition paper against Corona’s motion to quash the cases, the prosecution noted that the ousted chief magistrate and his legal team have been filing motions and raising the same issues "over and over again."

Corona is facing eight counts of perjury under the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and another eight counts of violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

The charges, filed by the Office of the Ombudsman with the Sandiganbayan in April 2014, stemmed from Corona’s alleged misdeclaration of assets in his Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) from 2001 to 2011, which eventually led to him being ousted by a Senate impeachment court.

"With all due respect, plaintiff submits that the former Chief Justice instead of delaying his arraignment by raising the same issues over and over again in different motions, should instead welcome the commencement of his trial," the Office of the Ombudsman’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) said in its opposition paper.

Corona’s supposed arraignment on Tuesday last week was deferred after he filed a motion to quash the cases.

Prior to that, his arraignment, originally scheduled on October 15, 2015, was deferred due to Corona's pending motion for reconsideration at that time on the court’s earlier ruling finding probable cause to put him on trial.

Corona’s motion for reconsideration was eventually denied on January 20, 2016, with the court maintaining that there is sufficient evidence on hand to assume that "more likely than not, the charges has been committed by the accused."

The prosecution said Corona raised no new arguments in his motion to quash other than those he already raised in his motion for judicial determination of probable cause and motion for reconsideration, which were both dismissed by the court.

"At its core, the Motion [to Quash] of accused Corona is essentially a bid to delay, if not totally derail the criminal proceedings against him," the prosecution said.

"Rather than employ measure after measure to postpone his inevitable trial before the Filipino public, accused Corona should embrace the opportunity to once and for all, test his theories and defense in court," it added.

The prosecution further accused Corona of forum shopping, saying that his motion to quash is just the same as his petition certiorari, which is pending before the Supreme Court.

In his petition for certiorari, Corona asked the high tribunal to dismiss his cases before the Sandiganbayan, claiming that the facts of the cases do not constitute the crime being charged against him.

Corona raised the same issue in his motion to quash.

"Perusal of the Motion and the Petition of accused Corona will inevitably reveal that, in both submissions, he makes essentially the same arguments and raises the same issues, leading to the same ultimate relief: the dismissal of the cases against him and the termination of the instant criminal proceedings. This is clearly a species of forum-shopping," the prosecution said.

The prosecution pointed out that by availing the same remedies in two different fora, Corona is placing the SC and the Sandiganbayan on a possible "collision course" in case the two courts issue contradictory rulings.

"This is the very evil sought to be prevented by the prohibition against forum shopping," the prosecution said.

The prosecution also maintained that the cases filed against Corona were sufficient in substance and form as earlier ruled by the Third Division when it denied his motion for judicial determination of probable cause as well as his motion for reconsideration.

"The time for legal maneuverings has long passed; in the interest of truth and justice, accused Corona’s trial should now begin in earnest," the prosecution said.

The court gave Corona’s camp five days to reply on the prosecution’s opposition, after which his motion to quash is deemed submitted for resolution.

Corona and his wife Cristina are also facing a P130.59-million civil forfeiture case before another division of the Sandiganbayan, also in connection with the alleged misdeclarations in their SALNs.

In 2012, the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, convicted Corona for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution over non-declaration of several assets, including real estate properties in his SALNs, causing his removal from the Supreme Court. —KBK, GMA News