Day 36 Corona trial highlights: Defense says CJ will testify in impeachment trial

Published May 8, 2012 8:40pm

Angara decries defense move to seek his inhibition in trial

At the start of the day's trial on Tuesday, Senator Edgardo Angara stood up to debunk the defense camp’s claim that he would not be impartial in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona because his son, Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, is a spokesperson of the House prosecution team.
Angara said he had nothing to do with the designation of his son as spokesperson. He described as “illogical” the defense camp’s motion seeking his inhibition as senator-judge, saying the Senate and House of Representatives have different roles in the trial.
He also took exception to the “malicious insinuation” of Corona’s lawyers that his vote “has been bought” due to the Aquino government’s approval of the P1.66-billion Baler-Casiguran Road Improvement Project in his home province, Aurora. Angara said the project started during the past administration and is fully funded by the South Korean government.
Lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas defended the filing of the motion for Angara’s inhibition, saying it was merely meant to convey the “feeling of the Chief Justice that the senator will not be able to give cold neutrality as a judge.”

Victory in libel cases gave Mrs. Corona an edge over relatives

Defense lawyer Jose Roy III presented Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 216 clerk of court Lucita Masangkay-Cristi to testify that Corona’s wife, Mrs. Cristina Corona, won in the two libel cases she filed against her uncle Jose Maria Basa and other relatives in 2001.
Cristi said the court awarded Mrs. Corona P500,000 in damages from the defendants. Roy said the defendants appealed the decision during the same year but still lost. The victory paved the way for Mrs. Corona to gain control over the controversial Basa-Guidote Enterprises Inc. (BGEI) owned by her family.
However, private prosecutor Cynthia Corazon Roxas questioned the issuance of the writ of execution on April 28, 2003, saying Jose Maria Basa died on Aug. 29, 2002 and the parties involved knew about it. The issue went unresolved, as the witness was deemed incapable of testifying on the matter further.

Corona daughter bought nearly all BGEI stocks for P28,000

Sheriff Joseph Bisnar of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 216 testified that he implemented the writ of execution in April 2003 to collect P500,000 in damages awarded by the court to Cristina when she won the libel cases against her relatives.
Bisnar said he posted on the bulletin board a notice of public auction of BGEI and conducted the bidding on September 30, 2003. The chief magistrate's daughter Carina was the lone bidder, and she bought the 4,839 shares of Jose and Raymunda Basa equivalent to 90.87 percent of BGEI for P28,000, the sheriff said.
Bisnar said he was not aware that Jose Basa III had died eight months before he implemented the writ of execution. He also said he was not aware that Carla was related to Corona, who was an Associate Justice at the time.

Defense says Corona will testify in trial

Before the trial adjourned for the day, defense lawyer Jose Roy III said Corona will testify in his trial provided that 10 hostile witnesses, including Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, are presented in relation to the chief magistrate’s alleged $10-million deposits. Roy said Corona wants to respond to the allegations against him “under oath.”
Responding to a query from Senator Panfilo Lacson on whether Corona would be willing to sign a waiver allowing the court to look into his dollar accounts, Roy said there is “a strong possibility that he will disclose everything.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, one of the senators who had urged the defense team to present Corona, assured the defense team that their client will be treated respectfully when he takes the witness stand.
Enrile immediately granted the request of the defense to subpoena the potential witnesses. He also allowed the defense to have a 48-hour continuance so they can prepare for the testimonies on Corona’s alleged dollar accounts. The impeachment trial will resume next Monday.

- With reports from Kimberly Jane Tan, Andreo Calonzo, and Mark Merueñas/YA, GMA News