Low taxes “unheard of” in the business, broker says
My Exclusive
By Raïssa Robles
Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona may have been sold a luxury penthouse at a very special discounted price. He also may have enjoyed tax breaks on the same transaction, courtesy of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, sources separately confirmed to me.
What’s wrong with that, his friends and allies are likely to say. After all, it’s a business transaction done in his own private time.
Perhaps I’m being idealistic in my expectations of how a Chief Justice ought to behave. I recall my late lawyer-father – who used to teach Legal Ethics at the University of the Philippines College of Law – narrating how, in the US, when one lawyer was appointed Chief Justice of the US Federal Court, he took to dining alone or with his family in public. He was trying to avoid conflict of interest situations.
I’m sure nearly every lawyer is familiar with the saying: Caesar’s wife must be above reproach. In the case of Chief Justice Corona, did his personal transactions raise any conflict of interest issues? Did he get favorable treatment due to his position, or treatment that is not otherwise accorded ordinary citizens?
Did he violate Republic Act No. 6713 which imposes a Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards on all public officials and employees? Section 7 in particular states:
(d) Solicitation or acceptance of gifts. — Public officials and employees shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office [underlining is mine].
Interestingly enough, Megaworld Corporation, which directly sold the condo to CJ Corona, has had legal suits before the Supreme Court while Corona sat as an Associate Justice.
I do recall it won several suits before the Supreme Court. I could not see Corona’s name being mentioned as having cast any vote for or against Megaworld in any of the suits.
The suits of Megaworld decided in the Supreme Court can be viewed by clicking on this link and this link.
UPDATE, January 8, 2011 at 7:47 P.M.: Threecommenters named “George”, Manuel Buencamino and “Josh” have just pointed out to me that I had actually provided a link to the Supreme Court website showing that Renato Corona had penned a decision in 2004 in favor of Megaworld. Looking back, I was thrown off by the phrase “Corona, J.”
My brain had quickly dismissed it because I was thinking it must be a different Corona since his first name starts with “R.” Now I realize that “J.” stands for “Justice”. Click on this link to read CJ Corona’s decision.
Megaworld has refused to comment on its transaction with CJ Corona. I tried to broach the subject with Megaworld Investment Information Officer John Hao. He said he was not allowed to speak on the issue. He told me the same thing he had told the newspapers:
The company has a privacy policy under which it is committed to maintain all client information in strictest confidence. Consistent with this commitment, the company does not, as a matter of policy, disclose information pertaining to the business dealings with its clients.
We shall comply with the official orders of the authority – if summoned – in a proper forum.
Apart from John Hao, I talked to an architect and two other sources who do not know each other and have had no dealings with CJ Corona. Both declined to be identified. One is a prominent realty broker who deals with upmarket properties in Metro Manila. I will call him Pedro. The other works in a well-known property research firm specializing in tracking high-end properties. I’ll call him Danny.
Both Pedro and Danny were amazed at the price at which CJ Corona obtained his penthouse in Bellagio Tower 1. And at how low the taxes that were imposed on this property.
Both said that if offered the same deal, they would grab it quickly.
Why the Bellagio condo “is a steal”
Bellagio 1 was completed in end 2008, according to Megaworld. Before completion, Pedro the realty broker recalled that penthouse units there were pre-selling at P80,000 to P85,000 per sq m. At that price alone, CJ Corona’s 303.5 sq m unit would have cost at least P24.28 million. Add to that P800,000 per parking slot (of which he bought three) and that would raise the cost to P26.68 million.
CJ Corona’s penthouse was still cheaper than the pre-selling price.
According to the Deed of Absolute Sale between CJ Corona and Megaworld, the transaction was sealed and notarized on December 16, 2009 – or way past the pre-selling period. After a building is finished, units automatically rise in price because there is no longer the risk of non-completion, explained Danny of the property research firm.
This means, Danny said, CJ Corona would have normally been charged a higher price than the pre-selling price. And yet, according to the Deed of Absolute Sale, he paid only P14.5 million for the penthouse and three parking slots of 12.5 sq m each.
This means he actually owns 341 sq m in Bellagio. This means he only paid P42,521.99 per sq m, both Pedro and Danny said after their calculations.
“It’s really a steal I tell you,” Pedro said.
Portion of the Deed of Absolute Sale shows the terms of sale
Danny of the property research firm then placed CJ Corona’s purchase in the context of the prevailing market. He said that as a research firm, they track only developments they consider “premium”, “Grade A” and “Grade B” in five areas: Bonifacio Global City (also called BGC or The Fort) where Bellagio 1 is located; the Makati Central Business District or CBD, the Ortigas CBD, Eastwood and Rockwell.
Danny said Bellagio 1 belongs to the highest or premium grade category because of its location, “exclusivity”, floor area per unit, amenities and finishing.
To give you an idea, here are photos from the Megaworld website showing the interior of a Bellagio III unit:
Residents share in the use of the following:
- A 220 sq m swimming pool inclusive of the wading pool
- Sandy beach pool and water feature
- Aromatherm and SPA (male and female)
- Aromatherm Electronic Capsule (4 in 1)
- Hydrotherapy tub Steam
- Vichy Shower Wet table
- Heated Pool SPA in Glass Enclosure
- Fitness gym
- Music/piano function room, game room (billiards and table tennis)
- Day care center and play area
Danny said that of the 41 residential buildings located at BGC or The Fort, only six are considered premium buildings: Bellagio 1, 2 and 3, Essensa, Pacific Plaza and Serendra.
Danny noted that as of end 2008 when Bellagio 1 was completed, the average price of a condo unit in the Bonifacio area ranged from a low of P88,000 per sq m to a high of P115,000 per sq m.
“And he (Corona) got it for around P40,000 (a year later). Anyone would be amazed…because it is a Bellagio,” Danny said.
To give me an idea of how grossly under-priced Corona’s unit was, Danny said that at that time that CJ Corona bought his unit, condo units made by developer DMCI Homes were then selling at P42,000 per sq m. – which is the price at which Corona bought his property. DMCI projects are not high-end and are located in the outskirts of Parañaque, Quezon City and Taguig – not in the heart of Bonifacio, he said.
This is how DMCI Homes describes its market in its own website:
DMCI Homes is the country’s first Triple A builder/developer of premium quality, urban-friendly, serviced communities for young growing families of modest income that aspire to live comfortably near their place of work, of study and of leisure.
Hmmm. Families “of modest income” would have been able to afford CJ Corona’s Bellagio condo if only they were given the same terms that Corona got from Megaworld.
But Danny said, “You can’t get a Bellagio being sold at P42,000 per sq m. It’s so undervalued.” Especially because Bellagio 1 was the only building completed in 2008 with units sized over 300 sq m. The usual unit sizes being built in 2008 ranged from 220 sq m to 230 sq m, Danny said. And that was what made the Bellagio penthouses – that CJ Corona got – quite attractive.
From a purely business” standpoint, Danny found it “quite suspicious” for a developer to sell a prime unit at a loss”without any strings attached. “Maybe Megaworld has ties with Corona. I don’t know,” Danny said.
Why was Corona’s condo purchase taxed so low?
Aside from the low purchase price, CJ Corona seems to have benefited in the transaction in the form of low taxes.
The law taxes the buying and selling of property. The law required CJ Corona, as the buyer, to pay to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) a Documentary Stamp Tax equivalent to 1.5% of either the Selling Price or the Market/Zonal Value, “whichever is higher.”
The law also required the seller, Megaworld, to pay BIR a “Withholding Tax” equivalent to 5% of the Selling Price or the Market/Zonal Value, “whichever is higher.”
After payment, the BIR issues to the buyer a document called the Certificate Authorizing Registration or CAR. This details how much taxes were paid for the transaction.
In the case of CJ Corona’s condo purchase, everything seemed aboveboard at first glance. The tax was based on the Selling Price of P14.5 million because this was higher than the “Market/Zonal Value” of this piece of property.
CJ Corona’s CAR showed that BIR Revenue Officer Gerry O. Dumayas calculated the Market/Zonal Value of CJ Corona’s property at P6,827,200.
Wait a minute, I thought: P6,827,200 (the Market/Zonal Value) divided by 341 sq m would only give a Market/Zonal Value of P20,021 per sq m.
I remembered what Pedro earlier told me. To get the Zonal Value of an area, go to the BIR website and click on Zonal Values (under Special Sites).
He recalled that around 2008 Zonal Value for upscale Bonifacio area, where Bellagio stands, was even then around P80,000 per sq m.
I had to go back to both Pedro and Danny to confirm if I did the calculations correctly – that the BIR gave CJ Corona’s property a Zonal Value of P20,021 per sq m. instead of somewhere around P80,000.
I asked both of them to do the calculations. They came up with the same finding. His property was indeed under-taxed.
“Assuming that is true, that (kind of tax rate) is unheard of” for the Bonifacio area, Pedro said.
“That happens in our industry,” he said.
What happens in your industry, I asked.
Pedro said: “You know, you want savings (on your taxes), you pay only half, you save 25%, the other 25%, you know….”
“That was what was happening in the BIR at least before. Now they’re stricter. I really respect (the current tax chief Kim) Henares,” he added.
I asked both Pedro and Danny to confirm the following – if we assume that the Market/Zonal Value for the Bonifacio area at the time of CJ Corona’s purchase was around P80,000 per sq m, that would mean his 341 sq m property would have a Zonal Value of P27.28 million.
Since P27.28 million is higher than the P14.5 million he paid for the property, the tax he paid should have been based on the Market/Zonal Value and not on the selling price because the Market/Zonal Value is higher, right?
Both Pedro and Danny said “Yes.”
Under the law, CJ Corona had to pay documentary stamp tax equivalent to 1.5% of the selling price or Market/Zonal Value, “whichever was higher”. The BIR document shows he paid P217,655 – or 1.5% of the selling price since this was higher than the Zonal Value given in the document.
However, if the BIR had used P80,0000 per sq m as the Zonal Value, that would have made the Zonal Value P27.28 million for CJ Corona’s property higher than the Selling Price. This would mean, the Zonal Value would have been used as basis for calculating the Doc Stamp Tax. This would mean, CJ Corona should have been charged P409,200 instead of P217,655 by the BIR.
The same understatements are true for the Withholding Tax paid for this transaction. Instead of the P725,511.25 that was paid, it should have been P1.364 million.
All in all, the BIR seemed to have waived P830,033.80 in potential tax revenues in this transaction alone – P191,545 from the buyer CJ Corona and P638,488.80 from the seller Megaworld.
I tried to reach BIR Revenue Officer Gerry O. Dumayas last Friday. All I got was the answering machine in his office. I must have phoned him five times. He wasn’t in his office or was not picking up the phone.
Perhaps someone higher up asked Dumayas to do it?
I also tried to reach Supreme Court Administrator Midas Marquez but he wasn’t picking up. Other reporters have asked him about CJ Corona’s condo. Marquez has defended him saying CJ Corona could well afford to buy a condo.
What CJ Corona has admitted so far
CJ Corona’s Bellagio penthouse is cited as part of the evidence to show his alleged “culpable violation of the Constitution” and “betrayal of pubic trust.” The accusation against him reads:
2.4. Respondent is likewise suspected and accused of having accumulated ill-gotten wealth, acquiring assets of high values and keeping bank accounts with huge deposits. It has been reported that Respondent has, among others, a 300-sq. meter apartment in a posh Mega World Property development at the Fort in Taguig.
CJ Corona recently submitted his reply to the Senate. He denied the allegation it was ill-gotten. But he admitted owning it. He said:
Finally, Complainants allege in par. 2.4 that “reports” state CJ Corona acquired a 300-sq. m. apartment in the Fort, Taguig. Complainants speculate that he has not reported this in his SALN and that its price is beyond his income as a public official. CJ Corona admits that he and his wife purchased on installment a 300-sq. m. apartment in Taguiog, declared in his SALN when they acquired it.
From this statement, it is very clear that Corona claims he did not pay for the condo in lumpsum but “on installment”.
Pedro the realty broker told me Corona could easily prove what he said by presenting a document called the “Contract to Sell”. This is normally notarized in order to protect the buyer while paying on installment since the Condominium Certifcate of Title remains with the seller until everything is paid. The Contract to Sell states the installment terms and interest rate.
I haven’t seen any Contract to Sell. I don’t know if one exists. Only Corona or Megaworld or the notary public can produce it.
What I obtained from a source I can’t name is the Deed of Absolute Sale showing that the Corona couple paid in full for 38-B in Bellagio Tower 1, facing the Manila Golf and Country Club; as well as three basement parking slots of 12.5 sq m each.
You can view the Deed of Absolute Sale below, after the video.
To get an idea of how exclusive this property is, watch the video below on its triplet tower, Bellagio III:
DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE for Bellagio 1, page one
DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE for Bellagio 1, page two
CERTIFICATE AUTHORIZING REGISTRATION, BIR
CONDOMINIUM CERTIFICATE OF TITLE -CJ CORONA’S CONDO at Bellagio Tower 1, 38th floor
CONDOMINIUM CERTIFICATE OF TITLE – parking slot 1
CONDOMINIUM CERTIFICATE OF TITLE – parking slot 2
CONDOMINIUM CERTIFICATE OF TITLE – parking slot 3
mary says
the 2 dates have relationship or connection other than the Deed always being dated after the contract to sell.
it is not the date of the Absolute Deed of Sale which a smart researcher would use to figure out the proper price to have been paid at the time of purchase. the Deed of Absolute sale is only executed after FULL PAYMENT.
It is the date of the Contract to Sell which would be a researchers first choice contract to figure out anything about the correct price. and then again, not even then is the date of the contract to sell a fool-proof method.
the unit might have been sold on day ONE of pre-selling to someone else. that contract can then be transferred to a new buyer. same price shows up. the resale price doesn’t show up on the developers contract to sell assigned to the new buyer.. that’s in the sales term between original buyer and the new buyer. so, CJ’s CTS date also has no fool proof way to determine if the price paid was real or not.
but anyway, you guys DON’T even have the CTS. . so you just relying on 2 real estate agents who usually in my opinion don’t know anything but the BS ECHAS that the developers tell them to tell the buyers.
now, another thing, ZONAL VALUE and MARKET VALUE also have nothing to do with the other. if it did, they’d just call it Market Value.
Zonal Value has nothing to do with the particular unit or the particular condo building. it is simply based on a value of 1 sqm in the zone. i don’t know what that zone includes. maybe it averages in the squatter areas on the other side of Taguig?? i don’t know. did any of you researchers look into it?
the Zonal Value comes from the city tax assessor office. nothing to do with the developer or buyer. at least not supposed to be. the zonal value per sqm should be the same for every unit in that condo and the area for that class of building, residential. . did anyone check the tax bill of another unit?
another comment about CTS and DoAS. Developers rarely if ever comply with PD 957 and deliver the titles upon full payment, or execute DoAS upon full payment. maybe the titles aren’t ready. maybe they have liens against the property. they don’t follow PD 957. that said, there usually is a big discount for CASH payments. as big as 15% or more. there could also be other developer discounts of a few % or more. unless the researcher knew ALL the payment terms and applied discounts, how could they ever conclude a ‘proper’ price paid or not? it doesn’t show up on the DOAS.
also, the video is biased and inconclusive evidence. first of all, units come empty. not with the disproportional expense for luxuries the developer puts into a model unit versus the condo unit price. the developer can afford to do something uneconomical on a few model units because it’s a good investment for the developers marketing efforts. the developer is selling a dream to buyers, model units are not reality.
2nd of all, that video IS NOT EVEN REAL. it’s computer animation! they could have added 20′ tall tv screen and an elevator and every imaginable luxury known, it’s not real or conclusive proof that the bellagio is so exclusive that 14M was a bogus price to have been recorded.
very few units will actually ever turn out like a developer’s model unit. the word ‘model’ is more accurately ‘glamorous’ than in meaning a ‘typical’ unit.
by the way, if you want to convince us of the ‘exclusiveness’ of a condo project, it can’t be done by just showing us an animated video of a studio. to show us the luxury of the project show us the amenities, hallways, grounds landscaping, lobby, front desk, guard houses, impenetrable walls and gates etc.
anyway, i give CJ a lot of credit. i saw him at the porkbarrel rally at quirino grandstand last year. takes a lot of guts to show up there. i don’t recall seeing Binay there.
Gerry says
Was the 203 sqm lot in McKinley Hills also underpriced? At P6.2 milllion, the per sqm price comes out to 30,542. I heard that lot prices there were offered at around 70k per sqm, and similar transactions in that project should be checked to determine the true prices and the discount. In similar fasion, there are 4 penthouse units in the Bellagio. How much did the other 3 units sell for. Senator Kiko was questioning the Megaworld director along these lines, but was not given an answer. Common sense questioning will give to rest the issue of whether a discount was given or not. Ano ba talaga ang binayad nung 3 pang Penthouse buyers.
henry says
wala palang kwenta ang mga unit ng Megaworld, nasisira ng bagyo saka tumatagas ang tubig,
low quality ika nga…….
AUGUST C FERNANDO says
FR a commenter named HENRY: “wala palang kwenta ang mga unit ng Megaworld, nasisira ng bagyo saka tumatagas ang tubig, low quality ika nga…….” Yamo na low quality units ng Megaworld, Henry. Hi-tech naman ang mga presyo nila. At yung milyones mong ibabayad tiyak na hindi tatagas… safe sila sa banko ng Megaworld! ;)
Gerry says
Why didn’t they discuss the price of the parking lot? We bought a 2 slots in a Megaworld project in 1997 and it was half a million each. If the cost of a slot in 2008 was 1 million, then the condo comes out to 11.5 million only, or 37.5k per sqm. Unless they got a special price for defective parking, this looks like a ridiculously low price. So from 80k to 37.5k per sqm. That’s more than a 50% discount. I suggest that the prosecution lawyers do the math to include the cost of the parking slots. There are three of those and those slots are sold separately from the unit. Please please do the math so you could strengthen your case.
raissa says
You’re right.
We all forgot about the parking slots, except you.
Gerry says
I meant the prosecution do the math. Sorry wasn’t clear on that. Listening to the testimony yesterday, they valued a 300 sqm penthouse at 80k per sqm, therefore 24M. Comparing it to the 14.5M purchase price led to the conclusion of an approximately 10M discount. The Megaworld testimony yesterday detailed a 5M damage discount, a 15% cash discount, and a Lehman Brothers failure discount of around than 1M or more. I think it was Sen. Recto who tried to calculate how the amount of 14.5M was derived.
Comparing the 24M market value to the 14.5M purchase price is not an apples to apples comparison though, since the 24M figure being discussed yesterday did not include the 3 parking slots. I don’t know the value of each slot, but an assumption of 700k to 1M per adds 2.1M to 3M to the value. This is not an inconsequential figure and should be explained by Megaworld. If they gave it for free, then graft is in play.
eleonor tan says
superb investigative work,frankly im curious if the defense team of mr corona professional fees are really waive?my perception is it is a well funded team.
will says
Your articles are really nice and informative. I am following your blog since the day I discovered it from the web. It’s way much better to read your articles than to watch TV news. By the way, isang article sana ang gusto kong i-request from you, about Benjamin Abalos. He is the root of all evil after the 2004 elections in my opinion.
raissa says
Thank you.
You want to read about Mr Hamborger?
will says
Yes definitely, if you may! I find it hard to find articles that points to his misdeeds while he is the commissioner. It seems he has totally escaped the law for all his wrongdoings! Imagine, the comelec office, who is sitting right in front of the intramuros fire station, was burnt to ashes kung kelan may ongoing investigation about anomalies sa nakalipas na election? He wouldn’t surely have done that if he has not amassed millions(if not billions) in return to the favor he gave to GMA. He held the next most powerful position in the land after the president. (I’m not saying that it actually is but he has control on who can sit as the next president).
Sorry for posting out of topic comments by the way! Related kasi ito about GMA at mga galamay nya. (-,-). Maybe I just had the wrong impression about him? But by the way he speaks, I must say that he is much like Pichay who can speak with extreme confidence telling unbelievable lies infront of the camera. Para silang mga Avengers (sa kabaligtran sa movie) together with the generals surrounding GMA at that time, ang mga tagapagtanggol ng pandak!
jizzy says
I also agree with will…please d the same with abalos and possibly other justices too then all politicos
Juan Macipag says
Yes, include Cong. Pichay also.
He is so confident on his lies that I will not be surprised if he will believe it himself too.
Pasensya na OT na po.
Conrado Poblete says
This case is more than what the eyes can see. Such a transaction cannot be done without the participation of others. This is really good & exciting whatever will be the result of the case. Other participant(s) will now have to think if their action or monetary gain is worth it, knowing that it be uncovered in the future. Deterrent is at times the best way to stop this type of transaction.
AUGUST C FERNANDO says
Gara ng palusot ni Defense Counsel Cuevas pagkatapos mabisto na sa Impeachment Court ang SALN ni Corona na pilit sana nilang gustong itago. Sabi nya FAVORABLE DAW SA DEFENSE ung paglabas ng SALN ng Client niya. HAHAHAHA! His lame reason, altho mi konting value ay, it proved that Corona did indeed file his yearly SALN. But had this “brilliant” (DIUMANO) counsel thought of that IT WAY WAY MUCH FAVORED THE PROSECUTION BECOZ IT REVEALED IN INCONTROVERTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE — or should it be BLANKONG WHITE lang? — THAT CHEAP JUSTICE CORONA DID NOT LIST DOWN HIS INFAMOUS, highly documented by our RAISSA, P14.5 MILLION BELLAGIO CONDO IN ANY OF HIS DECLARED SALN? BINGO!!
WHAT ABOUT IT, CUEVAS? Baka mamiyabas ka na mula ngayon! Hehehehe!
Mel says
Tama ka @AUGUST C FERNANDO
Nakasulat ang basehan ngayon kung unipormado ang ari-arian, pangautang, at buhay halaga ni Renato Corona.
Dito malalaman ngayon ang sangkaterbang agam agam ngayon ng sambayanang pilipinas.
Maliliwanagan, mapapatunayan ang lahat ng itinatagong mga ari-arian at yaman.
Dahil legal ang SALN at may kasamang kaparusahan kung nagsinungaling si R Corona.
Lilitaw at napapatunayan kung nagsasabi ng tutuo ang mga Coronas.
HINDI SANA MAGKAMALI ANG PROSEKUSYON DITO.
Johnny lin says
@mel & august
Mamiyabas, kapampangan si august sabi ko na sayo mel
Mel says
ahh, makaniyan.
Eh ngeni ko pa balong kapampangan pala eh i August.
eh di masanting para atin kong kasabi keni.
kamusta ka wari @AUGUST C FERNANDO.
taga nukarin ka? eh i ima at ita ko taga bacolor ra.
ditak mung balo kong kapampangan pero makaintindi ko.
o sige neh?
Raïssa, you might be wondering what I just posted here.
i just wrote, it is only now that I knew @AUGUST C FERNANDO as a kapampangan.
That’s good. and asked how are you @AUGUST…
I wrote that my parents are from bacolor pampanga.
END.
Raïssa, Sorry for the Troll again for the nth time. pahamak si Johnny lin.
LOL!
—–
@Johnny lin
You wrote, “Mamiyabas, kapampangan si august sabi ko na sayo mel”
hey máte, how would I know every comment & replies you threw at Raïssa’s blog site.
we’d have to put a stop to this trolling shots máte,
otherwise visitors would be annoyed and label the blog site a favorite of JOKEr arroyo.
DAKAL SALAMAT KEKA YU NGAN.
AUGUST C FERNANDO says
Fr JOHNNY lin: “@mel & august Mamiyabas, kapampangan si august sabi ko na sayo mel”
Johnny Guitar… soweee… WRONG MISTAKE NA MALI! August is as Rizalian as Lorenzo Sumolong. As pure Tagalog as Amang Rodriguez minus the Queen’s English! HAHAHAHA! The only Pampango term I know is “mekeni, abe?” na pinsang-buo ng Batangueno “Aru, abe!” ;) :)
Johnny lin says
@fernando
Ha ha ha, you say depend like GMA, Mamiyabas like mel, i said you are kapampangan only, idid not say you come from pampanga, you are kapampangan by speech like mevsonetines. i am also Rizalian from Pampang, pampang ng Pasig
You are really from super Rizal, like your real name preceded by Augustus Caesar
I rationalize now like your favorite lawyer Cuevas or favorite punching bag shall I say, he he he.
@Raissa we are only happy bbecause SALN was finally proving non disclosure. Sorry too.
The prosecutors are so bobo, all they should say “what Corona did was submit an untruthful SALN, what we accused was non disclosure of SALN. Submit is different from Disclosure in terms of truthfulness. Under the constitution, public official, more so with Corona being the highest magistrate of the court of the land, must be TRUTHFUL with SALN Disclosure in all its contents, income and assets including conjugal properties bank accounts, source of conjugal income and true market values of properties based on deeds of sale. That we are presenting are documents proving Corona lied in his SALN which untruthfulness is culpable violation of constitution and betrayal of public trust. That the documents showing millions of undisclosed properties in his SALN are evidences of ill gotten wealth. All of these are stated on the Article II impeachment charge”
Did I say it right like Cuevas, kasangga kong Rizal
Johnny lin says
August, Tagalugin mo nga yung sinabi ko baka nagbabasa yung tunay na kapampangan kabalen ni Mel, si Lapid, I mean pareng Leon Guerero,
AUGUST C FERNANDO says
From Johnny lin, somewhere: “August, Tagalugin mo nga yung sinabi ko baka nagbabasa yung tunay na kapampangan kabalen ni Mel, si Lapid, I mean pareng Leon Guerero,”
Linsyok, pare ko, at gagawin mo pa akong interpreter! You know, after I retired prematurely the day my office was reduced to ashes and debris by ruthless, soulless, Godless Middle East punks on Sept 11, 2001, I no longer wanna do ANY KIND OF JOB! Sunog na katawan ko sa trabaho. 25 yrs in Pinas govt (NEDA). 20 years in corporate America (Wall Street). Enough! The only exertion/exercise I have been doing since then was whenever I use my ATM to haul off what Uncle Sammy’s sending me monthly — if you get my drift, hehehe! ;)
jorgebernas says
Sayang na cuevas membro pa naman nang lglisya ni kristo pero napakasinungaling pala at gagawin lahat maipagtanggol lamang ang thief justice corona? Tanong ko lang naghiwalay na ba si thief justice corona at mrs.cristina corona dahil nakita ko hindi isinama ni thief justice sa kanyang SALN ang asawa? Bakit nga pala sinabi nang defense team na nakatulong sa kanila ang paglabas nang SALN gayon noong una ay halos ayaw pag usapan at ilabas kahit ni thief justice corona kanyang na ba ka BOBO mga taong ito? Unti unti na lumalabas Baho mo thief corona, konting panahon nalang at magsasama na kayo ni abalos sa kulungan? Magbalot balot kana thief & mrs.thief cristina corona?
juan caballero says
Congratulations Ms. Raissa for a wonderful job. Just now, i found out that Corona did not own any vehicles for the year 2009 based on his SALN. All the Prosecution should do is to call the LTO official concerned to prove that there are vehicles registered under his name.
raissa says
GOOD POINT!
Johnny lin says
Chances are not in his name but to his children. Associate justices are provided free cars, one is Camry and another SUV and their drivers are SC employees, same with CA justices, government paid driver with one car. CJ has 3 free cars and 2 drivers, the reason Mrs Corona delayed her resignation date until she could avail of the car privilege of CJ. Neat ha!
Justices were supposed to buy new ones before Christmas but that decision was shelved due to the tempest in SC. Better investigate how many cars his children have, how much and how were they purchased? Another Megaworld like sweet deal? Clue: Try finding out which justice has Audi. This company has a long standing unresolved court case between the franchise owner and Audi Germany.
juan caballero says
yeah, but the wife has to have a car. The car that she uses when she goes to the supermarket every weekend. Otherwise, the presumption is they use the “red plated ones” even during their private trips.
raissa says
Hindi ba puwede red plate sa weekend?
Johnny lin says
They use government cars 7 days a week including drivers except Sundays. Two cars for SC justices, one for CA justices.
juan caballero says
Pwede naman miss raissa pero dapat may travel order. Dapat justified ang paggamit ng car at pagsunog ng gas. Hehehe pero baka exempted nanaman ang Supreme Court. I will not be surprised. =)
juan caballero says
He did not disclose the Bellagio property in his 2009 SALN (as of 31 december 2009). Said property was bought on 16 December 2009 based on the Deed of Absolute Sale issued by the RD of Taguig City. Corona said, the “apartment” was bought in installment, he did not declare the same in his liabilities.
raissa says
lOOK AT THE 2010 – that’s his disclosure as of Dec 31, 2009.
jorgebernas says
@ juan caballero
Hindi nga na disclosed ni thief justice corona ang asawang si cristina corupt corona eh ang penthouse pa sa taguig etc etc… napakasinungaling talaga ni thief corona. ano kaya masasabi niya BUKING na BUKING na si thief, napakasingaling na mandarambong at walang dilikadisa… cum laude na Magnanakaw ha ha ha…He don’t deserve to in the Supreme Court a day long. Resign na thief corona sayang gastos namin sa magnanakaw na katulad mo? Nagpaka TUTA ka kasi?
Johnny lin says
This 14 million BELLAGIO property is not listed in any SALN declared annually by CJ Corona. The highest property asset declared is 6.8 million pesos in Taguig. If Corona claims that one Taguig property is the Bellagio then he lied on his SALN. Either way he was untruthful. Mafiosos call liars, BUGIARDO, rhyming with BELLAGIO. Well, Corona lawyers could testify his property name is Bugiardo, not Bellagio, he he he,
Corona’s defense team though legally skillful, lost the greatest battle already, SALN DISCLOSURE. There is now basis for comparison with acquired properties.
His fellow justices refused to interfere despite the secret pleading of Marquez to them. Corona eventually was abandoned by the ocho-ocho justices prompting Marquez to announce that Corona gave permission to release his SALN, done only after the Senate ordered it as saving face gesture.
The rest is posturing by Corona lawyers, their legal skills immaterial already. Last night, short lived eerie silence prevailed in their close door post trial conference when one young lawyer objected to the media declaration of Cuevas that none of them saw the SALNs before, tantamount to incompetence. This lawyer protecting professional future. SALN non disclosure was in the Articles of Impeachment and insanely inconceivable to declare publicly that NOBODY among the lawyers saw the SALNs.
Age and memory lapse of Cuevas catching on him shown by his profuse apology to Drilon and Enrile. Cuevas expertise on diversionary tricks is failing him. Expect withdrawal of one lawyer in few weeks for made up reason. Lets pray that Cuevas will not suffer CVA from too much brain pressure.
GAME OVER,TOUCHE!
cres says
Hi, Raissa
Palagay ko ay tapos na ang laban dahil nasisilip na ang malinaw na katotohanan. Sa SALN ni Thief Justice Corona na 18.5 million pesos for 2010 ay kulang pa kung icoconsider itong Bellagio na may market value na 25 to 30 million pesos. At sa 5 properties na inamin na niya ay nagkakahalaga sa declared value na 30+ million pesos. Good riddance, Thief Justice.
Ika nga awit na ang lahat ng “”and now the end is near”” from the song “”His Way””.
Di magtatagal ay makakapagpapahinga ka na ng kaunti sa kasong ito, Rissa, at ibang personalities naman ang maaaring hahalughugin mo?
Salamat din sa mga bloggers ng issue na ito. It has been an interesting and exciting reading for me.
More power.
Mel says
Hi Raïssa.
Good to re-read your articles again, including comments posted preceding the trial start date.
The comments posting was off for two days, except for @Johnny lin’s posties.
At least today, we got to read a lot of the comments due to recent developments.
I hope you’re AOK, not sure if you got an interview from R Corona’s media liaison spokesperson(s).
ARe you attending the Senate Impeachment trial sessions? It would be nice you are.
We look forward to your investigative reporting, and an update this impeachment case.
THANKS IN ADVANCE. Take care.