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CJ Corona’s condo is fully paid up, tax official confirms

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My exclusive

By Raïssa Robles

This contradicts the statement earlier made by Chief Justice Renato Corona’s lead lawyer that his client was still paying installment on his luxury condo to this day.

A Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) officer told me he personally signed a document in late 2009 which assumed that CJ Corona had fully paid up for his purchase of a 303.5 square meter penthouse and three 12.5 sq m parking space in Bellagio Tower 1 at The Fort.

“Ya, I think I signed the CAR (Certificate Authorizing Registration)” of the property in the name of CJ Corona and his wife Cristina, Makati Revenue District Officer Gerry Dumayas told me in an interview.

Dumayas confirmed he signed the certificate while he was the Revenue District Officer in charge of Taguig where The Fort is located.

Corona---BIR-Certificate-fr

I asked him if a CAR is only issued by the BIR once a unit is fully paid up.

Dumayas replied:

That’s the assumption. Because one of the documents that has to be submitted (to the BIR before a CAR can be issued) is the Deed of Absolute Sale. A corporate developer will not issue (to the buyer) a Deed of Absolute Sale if the property is not fully paid up. Maliban lang kung may usapan sila. Madalang yon. Maaring hindi nangyayari. Nasa usapan nila yon.

Ang assumption ng BIR, bayad pag nag-request ng issuance of the CAR. Bayad yung binili.

He said the CAR is the final step before a buyer can register the property in his name with the Registry of Deeds.

Dumayas confirmed that he issued and signed the CAR for Corona’s property on December 17, 2009.

The following month, on January 25, 2010, four Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT) were issued in the name of “spouses Cristina Corona and Renato Corona, both of legal age, Filipinos” according to documents made available to me.

But why was the selling price for CJ Corona & the taxes he paid so low?

I asked Dumayas these two questions that have puzzled me about this transaction.

Dumayas explained to me that he based the taxes imposed on CJ Corona’s property purchase on the amount of P14.5 million – or the price at which developer Megaworld Corporation had sold the unit to the Corona couple.

I pointed out to him that BIR’s zonal valuation at The Fort was already at P100,000 per square meter at that time, while the zonal valuation he gave to CJ Corona’s unit was P6.8 million or only P21,021 per sq m.

Dumayas’ reply stunned me. He said that zonal valuation pertained only to the land at The Fort. Only the land there was covered by a zonal valuation issued by the BIR Commissioner:

Wala kaming zonal valuation pa sa mga bagong condo sa Taguig at that time (in late 2009).

Wala pang zonal value (for condos at The Fort) even at this time. I have already made a proposal that zonal values be revised. I submitted this in 2010.

To this day, he said, his proposal has not been acted upon.

He explained that in the absence of an official zonal valuation issued by the BIR Commissioner for condos at The Fort, the law requires the BIR to base computation of the tax on: the selling price of the property or the market/zonal value in the “tax declaration issued by the Assessor’s Office of Taguig City.”

Dumayas said that because the tax declaration for CJ Corona’s condo unit was lower than the selling price, then he used the selling price as basis for computing the documentary stamp tax and withholding tax.

I asked him why he did not question such a low selling price when other comparable condo units at that time were then selling at much higher prices. I told him that a realty broker and a source at a propoerty research firm separately told me that the average selling price of a condo unit at that time CJ Corona had bought his property was around P80,000 per sq m.

Dumayas replied:

Kasi hindi naman namin puwedeng puwersahin. Oo nga, naririnig namin sa labas – yung selling ganito – but we have to rely on the documents being submitted.

And those are: the stated selling price and the tax declaration, he said.

I asked Dumayas when CJ Corona would have had to declare the property in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth or  SALN – at the time of the purchase or the registration of the property in his name?

Dumayas said this would have to be declared in the CJ’s 2009 SALN that would have been submitted in the year 2010.

Taguig’s tax assessor explains reason for their low tax declaration

In a separate interview, Engineer Roberto Villaluz, who heads the City Assessor’s Office of Taguig,  confirmed to me that indeed, their zonal valuation was THAT LOW for buildings at The Fort – only P19,200 per square meter – since 2008.

He said this is based on City Ordinance No. 47 or the Schedule of Fair Market Values for Improvement and Machineries.

This is the basis used by the city for computing the real property taxes due yearly, he said.

Whenever someone buys property, his office issues a “Tax Declaration” that is then submitted to the BIR for the issuance of a CAR, he said.

Villaluz also said that if CJ Corona has a Deed of Absolute Sale, then he has fully paid for the property:

If there is a Deed of Absolute Sale, that means the property has been fully paid. Or has been paid by the buyer.

I asked Villaluz what document could indicate that amortization was still being paid on the property. He said it would be a “Deed of Conditional Sale” drawn up between seller and buyer.

What CJ Corona’s lead lawyer said about the luxury condo

Last Monday, CJ Corona’s lead lawyer Serafin Cuevas insisted to the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the Corona couple were still amortizing the unit.

The Inquirer report said:

We already discussed that in our answer (to the articles of impeachment). We are not hiding anything. Until now, that is not yet fully paid,” he said.

Cuevas, however, admitted that he had yet to see the documents pertaining to the ownership of the Bellagio unit, saying: “If the Chief Justice was an ordinary person, I would have asked him to give me the documents.”

“But I believe he will give me all those things. We assume that when he told his lawyers that he was still paying for that, it was accurate and true.”

In today’s ABS-CBN News story, Cuevas said new allegations can no longer be raised in CJ Corona’s impeachment trial, such as the Bellagio property allegedly being given as a “gift” to him in exchange for a favorable court decision.

This was in reference to Corona’s purchase of the Bellagio condo from a corporation for which he had penned a favorable court decision in 2004.

However, some of my commenters have raised the issue whether CJ Corona also enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecution like the Philippine President during his tenure.

That’s a thought.

The Constitution is silent on this particular matter.

___________________________

Related Stories:

Realty broker: Corona’s posh condo “a steal” at P14 million 

Cash gifts & car plans – COA report shows what Corona’s wife did as a GMA appointee

 

Comments

  1. I worked with the Legal Dept of a bank before and condition talaga nila before release proceeds ng loan is ilipat yung title sa name ng borrower. The bank just gives the seller a bank guarantee letter to pay him pag tapos na lahat requirements. Pag released na loan proceeds sa seller and booked na yung loan, that’s the start when the borrower will payment his amortization to the bank….if your a banker or real estate broker, you would know that this is normal…alamin muna ang procedure bago dumakdak…

  3. The Canons in the New Code of Judicial Conduct of the Philippine Judiciary are what have been perceived to be violated by Corona. He should be beyond reproach and should avoid even the appearance of impropriety regardless if his acts were proven proper.

    Corona may win on technicalities but the impeachment by the HOR alone (plus the suspicion from the public, perhaps) did him in.

    He, as Chief Magistrate, will never be as effective as he thought he was before.

    The Canons can be read here:

    http://apps.americanbar.org/rol/publications/philippines-judicial-code-02-2007.pdf

    The file is annotated. A backgrounder of the Code can be read here:

    http://jrn21.judiciary.gov.ph/forum_icsjr/ICSJR_Philippines%20(R%20Puno).pdf

  4. I believe CJ Corona is still paying his Belagio condo on installment but not to its developer or to any bank but to GMA. As a matter of fact one of the installment was the TRO on the hold departure order which was shot down by the DOJ. If he resign or is found guilty by the Senate and subsequently removed from the SC and not able to pay the rest of the installments, will GMA declare him in default?

    • @alsor

      Sa laki nang utang ni thief justice corona kay fake president pandak ay hindi na ni thief corona kayang bayaran kaya nga nagpakaTUTA na ito kay pandak makabayad utang lamang regardless of the consequences basta masunod ang among pandak… Payback time for the pilipino people….
      Sana lang ay hindi magpakamatay si thief justice renato corona dahil gusto ko siyang makita na sana loob nang kulungan kasama ni pandak at abalos…. yan kasi ang dapat sa mga mandarambong, sinungaling at mandaraya…immagine pati mga obispo ginamit para sa pansariling kaginhawaan at itong mga walanghiyang Obispo ay nagpagamit naman, Nakakahiya at Nakakadiri kayo…
      sana magbago na kayong mga mandaraya at tandaan ninyo na wala sa kapangyarihan, salapi, ari arian ang tunay na kaligayahan bagkus ay kong paano ka namuhay nang tapat at sa ikabubuti sa lahat…Amen….

  5. It is possible that the condo was financed thru a bank loan. Once the bank approves the loan, they pay the developer. The owner then pays the bank thru monthly amortizations. I believe in such a case, the title will be transferred to the names of the buyers with the bank’s mortgage encumbered at the back of the title and the bank will also safekeep the original owner’s copy of the title.

  6. My prediction…..

    CJ Corona will resign, but not now…He will do so just before the Senators cast their votes, which mostly likely be a Guilty verdict.

    My wish is for him to resign soon so as to spare him and his family from embarassment since tons of dirt will be thrown at him, and to spare the judiciary since he is dragging it with him.

  7. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines. If he himself can not distinguish which is right, good and just (because he is involved or his friends are), it’s a hopeless Philippines then in terms of justice. It’s a slap to our government, Constitution and the Filipinos if he wins!

    We’re fed up! The Filipinos know what’s going on….

  8. It’s always good to discuss issues that affect us as a people. Pero kahit gaano kagaganda at kahuhusay ang ating mga ideya, opinyon at saloobin, isa lang ang ugat ng lahat ng ating pagka-aligaga sa panahong ito- ang sobrang katakawan (greed) sa kapangyarihan ni GMA. kung iginalang lang nya ang karapatan ng susunod na pangulo ( maging hindi man si PNoy ang nanalo) na magtalaga ng susunod na SC Chief Justice, tutal naman ay hindi tamang panahon ang pagkakatalaga kay CJCorona, sana’y pag-usad na lang ng bayan ang inaatupag natin ngayon.

    may isang salita pa sanang mas angkop kaysa sa ‘katakawan’ pero ayokong gamitin ito dahil baka hindi na ako igalang ng aking mga naging estudyante noong araw.

    • The immoral norm is “there’s no complete beautitude” in life. Meaning, we always love material things…including money, regardless it’s source. Many, both in public or private, takes this risk. 11th Commandment: – Thou shalt not get caught!

    • GMA appointed Corona as Chief Justice because she wants to be sure she’s covered. Insurance niya ang mga ito, kasama yung nag resign na Ombudsman Gutierrez. They were just pawns used by the evil scheming of GMA and husband to protect themselves from prosecution.

      One thought, sa dami ng nakulimbat ng mag-asawang Arroyo, it would be peanuts to hire the best lawyers to defend Corona and not far fetch to bribe at least 4 senators to create a block swing vote. This could be a very powerful block. How about 200 million per vote?

    • @ Rochie….

      Guess only, the missing word that you want to describe is one of the following? KAGAHAMAN, KASIBAAN, MUKHANGPERA….sa KATAKAWAN…GREEDY like ABALOS, BABOY, PANDAK, REYES, GUITIEREZ, and many many more….

  9. Thank you Raisa. I love reading your articles and I keep copies to be read again.

    I would love to see you do some research as well on the behavior of CJ Corona’s Supreme Court during 2011, particularly on labor cases. In at least two instances in 2011 that I know, the Supreme Court reversed their previous decisions that favored employee(s) after the lawyer of the employers appealed to the Supreme Court. One of the two cases is the PAL vs FASAP employees, which is well covered by the media. The other is about an employee who filed a case of illegal dismissal against a large company. The Court of Appeals (CA) ruled in the employee’s favor and ordered the company to reinstate employee with back wages. ‘The company appealed the decision to the Supreme Court but the Supreme Court upheld the CA decision. The vote was unanimous. Unfortunately, when the company filed a motion for reconsideration, the Supreme Court justices (all GMA appointees) voted unanimously to reverse their previous decision. What happened ? I don’t know.

    • had the PAL employees hired the services of Estelito Mendoza i am sure the order of the court will be on their favor..if my memory gets me right, it was this very smart lawyer who rendered services for the two cases you made mention that the supreme court decisions were both reversed..and am quite amazed with the charisma and magical words used by this famous lawyer that made the supreme court reversed their previous decision…

    • It is very very hard to believe that they SC court reverse their decision & the real reason was NAGKABAYARAN, BINAYARAN, NAGKABIGAYAN, NALAGAYAN ang mga TUTAng justices. Added burden na ngayon ito ni thief justice corona… CARMA na mga ito….

  10. He’d better do what ombudsman Gutierrez did than what the late general Angelo Reyes did. Resigning would be a better exit without exposing his dirty secrets than claiming his own life and be unsure of final destination after life.

    • agree!! delicadeza na lang din & para di na ma-drag pa yung family nya sa contoversy. unless mana sya sa nagappoint sa kanyang power hungry hehe. he should do the Merciditas than Angelo Reyes way

      • Buti nga kong hindi magresign si thief justice renato corona dahil gusto ko makita mga kasinungalingan, kagahaman, kawalanghiyang ginawa nito noon. At gusto kong makitang magkasama ni pandak, abalos etc.etc.etc.
        Karma na tawag dito ha ha ha.

        Tama ang kasabihan, ” NOBODY IS RICH ENOUGH TO BUY HIS OWN PAST” either Good or Bad… Amen….

  11. God is so gracious w/ u Raissa that HE gave you blog commenters who are not just sensible but they also share their view to have a better picture of the case. I really see the unity of good citizentry in this blog. God bless Philippines!!!

  12. tanong ng mga inakay na mahapdi ang sikmura:

    Magkano ang kinita ni Ginoong Corona simula nang siya ay magtrabaho sa gobyerno panahon pa ni ramos, at ano ang mga nabili niyang ari-arian? sapat ba ang sweldo nya para makabili ng mga ito? Kung galing sa yaman ng pamilya at sariling bulsa walang problema ang masa, pero kung galing sa suhol at pabuya kapalit ng pagtutuwid ng mali, magliligalig ang inapi upang ipahiya ang nagkakandili.

    Ang bayan ay matalino na. Kung ang kita ni Ginoong Corona kapalit ng paninilbihan sa gobyerno ay PISO lamang subalit nakabili siya ng isang bagay sa halagang UNO SINGKWENTA at may sukli pa, kailangan patunayan nya kung saan nanggaling ang SINGKWENTA sa pamamagitan ng argumento at dukumentong magsasabi na hindi nya ginamit ang kanyang impluwensya para magkamal ng malaking halaga.

    Salamat Raissa. Makabuluhan. Manatili kang Ginto!

  13. I’m praying that Cj Coruna will come to realize that he has seriously done a big mistake to the detriment of the Filipino people. I’m also praying that he’ll push thru with the impeachment and declare there that he really intended to protect the Arroyos who illegally appointed him to office at a time of constitutional ban on appointments.

  14. good job as always ma’am, hindi talaga laos ang mga sinusulat mo rito, andami naming nalalaman. keep safe po, mahilig pa naman sa shortcuts si corona and company. ;)

  15. At this crucial juncture of the pre-trial media blits, Chief Justice Corona has two(2) doable and practical options: 1.) Resign and follow the example of former ombudsman Gutierrez and Option No 2 (the most logical,convenient and expedient option. . . .The Angelo Reyes Gambit !

    • No, no, not the third option.

      Life is too wonderful – even for CJ Corona. There is life even after an impeachment trial or resignation.

      Think of Martha Stewart.

      • Thanks raissa for the very imformative stories keep it up.

        l still do believe that thief justice corona will not resign dahil sayang pa makukuha niyang kita or kutong, baka hindi niya mabayaran ang penthouse na nabili sa megaworld. at sa last hour ito magreresign tulad ni subiri para kaawaan… tse tse tse. Nakapandidiri Kasuwapangan mo corona, kapit tuko ka sa kapangyarihan na hindi ka naman karapatdapat coruptna…

    • Matanong ko lang, Ano na nangyari sa mga kasong isinampa laban kay merciditas gutierrez? Pls. keep me posted…..
      At ano na mga kaso sa kanya? kailangan mayroon para magsilbing babala/halimbawa at nang hindi na pamarisan….