By Raïssa Robles
As Defense lawyer Serafin Cuevas mightily tried to have the Senate toss out the impeachment case yesterday against Chief Justice Renato Corona, Senator-judge Joker Arroyo told him in no uncertain terms that the Senate could not do it.
Calling him “Justice Cuevas, my friend,” Arroyo gently said it wasn’t possible.
Before I go any further, I would like to explain to the reader that for this article, I am trying a different tack. I am writing this while watching the resumption of Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial on ABS-CBN’s livestream.
Senator-judges argue with Cuevas
Since the hearing started over 1.5 hours ago, Cuevas has been pulling out all the stops to have the entire impeachment case thrown out because this violated his client’s constitutional right to due process.
Cuevas has been arguing with one senator-judge after another, beginning with the Presiding Officer Juan Ponce Enrile. Next came Senator-Judges Allan Peter Cayetano, Francis Escudero and Miriam Defensor-Santiago. They all patiently explained to Cuevas their opinions as Cuevas continued to argue with all of them, one after the other.
Only Senator-Judge Franklin Drilon became testy when Cuevas butted in while he was speaking. “I take exception,” Drilon told him. “I am still speaking. Do not interrupt me.”
Then Senator-Judge Arroyo stood up. But instead of siding with the defense as he was wont to do while the prosecution was presenting its own evidence, Arroyo this time asked Cuevas a direct question – whether he was trying to toss out a particular Article of the Impeachment Complaint or ALL the Articles.
Cuevas frankly told Senator-Judge Arroyo:
To us it will appear there is no valid complaint because the complaint is not in accordance to what the Constitution requires – the right of the accused to due process.
Senator-Judge Joker Arroyo then told Cuevas –
After seven weeks and 27 days we are now going to decide it on practically the arguments you stated.
Then Senator-Judge Arroyo raised his own participation as a member of the prosecution panel in the 2000-2001 impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada. He said:
But I was in the prosecution case of President Estrada (when) the same issue arose. The defense and all (argued the same)…. Our argument (then) is that a House impeaches. This Senate hears and decides.
What the House transmits to the Senate – faults and all, everything – will have to be accepted by the Senate because the Senate cannot direct the House how to make an impeachment complaint.
Because the Constitution says the House impeaches, the Senate decides.
I’m thinking about the ultimate end of this goal. You are asking us to in effect pass judgment on what the House did. The defense is asking the Senate to decide and say the House is wrong. The House did this and did that. Can we do it as the Senate?
Just like the Estrada trial, defects and all, it was accepted that was the argument.
In fact, let me ask just a little while.
Senator-Judge Joker Arroyo then turned to the prosecution panel represented this time by Congressman Rodolfo Fariñas. Arroyo asked Fariñas:
Prosecution, do you have any objection to what the congressmen will be presented here? This is what Sen. Escudero who spoke before me wanted to ask and asked me to ask.
Fariñas replied:
We have an objection. The House has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment.
Senator-Judge Joker Arroyo turned again to Cuevas and told him in a gentle voice –
Justice Cuevas, my friend. That is the only question we have. You are asking the Senate in effect to nullify what the House did.
Cuevas then argued, saying –
We did that your honor, we have predicated our action on the decision of the Supreme Court. We can raise the violation of the House to due process.
But Senator-judge Joker Arroyo told him –
Yes, but the Davide case never reached the Senate. [Arroyo was referring to the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Hilario Davide which was quashed in the House.]
Cuevas told Senator-Judge Joker Arroyo he was referring to the Francisco case. [This was a petition filed by lawyer Ernesto Francisco asking the Supreme Court to declare the impeachment complaint against Davide unconstitutional.]
But Arroyo reminded Cuevas that “it (the Davide impeachment complaint) never reached the Senate but died in the House.
But in Corona’s case, Arroyo said, “the Senate has already acquired jurisdiction.” Arroyo then told Cuevas that the defense lawyers had all of Christmas break to try to quash the Corona impeachment before the Senate began the trial in January.
But Cuevas said:
There was no time to react. It was a blitzkrieg action.
Following Senator-Judge Joker Arroyo’s questioning, fellow Senator-Judge Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III also stood up and asked:
So you are pursuing that issue before the Supreme Court and you are pursuing it before this court?
“That is correct,” Cuevas said.
Then Senator-Judge Pimentel said –
Although it’s a basic doctrine, it’s the Supreme Court that interprets the Constitution, the House and Senate are not prevented from interpreting the Constitution. Hence in my humble opinion, the Senate CAN interpret the Constitution. Just as the Supreme Court can interpret. Just as the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, the Senate can also interpret the Constitution.
After Pimentel spoke, Senator-Judge Francis Pangilinan again asked Cuevas which portion of the impeachment complaint would be affected by their motion to dismiss.
Cuevas replied:
It will cover the entirety of this impeachment complaint.
Finally, after two hours of arguments, Presiding Officer Enrile stepped in and announced his ruling. Enrile said:
Under the Constitution, the sole power to try and decide all impeachment cases belong to this court. Only this court has the jurisdiction. The Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to try and decide all impeachment cases. Once the articles of the impeachment reaches this House, the command of the Constitution is the trial shall forthwith proceed.
Due process is not only the function of the House of Representatives. Due process is also the function of this house.
The facts of this case are that the Articles of Impeachment were referred to the Senate by the House, 188 members of the House filed the Articles of Impeachment to this house. The main complainants in that impeachment case are Representatives Niel Tupas, Joseph Emilio Abaya, Lorenzo R Tanada IIII, Reynaldo V. Umali, Arlene J. Baggao.
When this Senate, sitting as an Impeachment Court, received the Articles of Impeachment, it issued the proper process to notify…to the existence of these Articles of Impeachment against him (Corona) and requested and ordered the respondent to answer within 10 days. Which respondent Chief Justice did.
And a reply was equally filed by the prosecution with respect to the answer filed by the respondent Chief Justice, at least this Court has followed the principle of due process in a case like this.
And so, having made the ruling, the Court has assumed jurisdiction.
Knowing it has jurisdiction, proceed with the trial. As much as we want to accommodate the desire of the defense, this Court regrets to deny the desire of the defense. So you proceed with your evidence.
What just happened to the Senator-judges?
The senators have actually made a ruling that will have an impact on ALL future impeachment trials.
First, this means that in future impeachment complaints, the person being impeached can no longer question the manner by which the House of Representatives approves an impeachment complaint. The moment the magic number – of one-third signatories – is reached, the complaint is deemed verified and can automatically be transmitted to the Senate.
And second, the trial itself by the Senate is part of due process being accorded to the impeached personality. The respondent in an impeachment trial can no longer cry “lack of due process” even if Congress impeaches in lightning fashion, as what Cuevas complained today.
It’s a historic ruling and one that should serve notice to all impeachable state officials to be accountable for their actions.
As for the testimony of Congressman Toby Tiangco that followed Enrile’s ruling, it served as the day’s comic relief. It was the first time a congressman disclosed the intense wheeling and dealing that goes on in Congress whenever an important matter is taken up. He even giggled.
REY NATHANIEL IFURUNG says
I still think, with due respect to the Senate, that the defense can raise the validity of the articles of impeachment just like an accused can question the information and the filing thereof in court by the prosecutor. This is clearly subject to judicial review.
Odadsoid says
please don’t think.
majority of the Filipinos want to know the truth.
pinoypogi4 says
No more lawko lawko here please…..tell us the truth.
Bagong Pepe says
SALN 101
following reading material may interest some of our kababayans about the nitty gritty of SALN- with the permission of Madame Raissa (for the space) and thanking pcij.org for its contribution.
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“SALN a graft buster
With the Chief Justice’s SALNs already submitted and offered as evidence in court, the burden of proof is on him to show that all these changes resulted from TETs. But, according to Mr. Energy, “If this is not enough to convict, a second line of questioning is to ask the defendant to justify increases in assets without corresponding increases in liabilities and/or decreases in liabilities without corresponding decreases in assets.
Should the combined impact of the first and second offensives still be found insufficient for an incontrovertible conviction, the third offensive is to ask the defendant to justify the beginning balance in the very first SALN which he filed. Even this amount must be legally based on TETs, otherwise everyone can potentially set it up in anticipation of substituting illegally acquired wealth to be made possible upon his assumption into an office of trust and power.”
“The supremacy of this method of prosecution is that the SALN as sworn documents speak for themselves and the best evidence of what the filer has already attested to wittingly or unwittingly. That being the case, all the prosecution has to do is to present increases in Networth and ask that they be supported by TETs. Should any remain unsupported, the burden of proving that all these unsupported amounts were legally acquired is immediately on the defendant.”
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A newfound appreciation for the SALN
by Karol Ilagan
http://pcij.org/blog/2012/02/06/a-newfound-appreciation-for-the-saln
IF THERE IS ONE good thing that can be derived from three weeks of watching lawyers debate over technicalities before the Senate impeachment court, it may be this: government officials, employees, civil society, and even the ordinary Filipino may now have a newfound appreciation for that controversial document called the statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN).
The SALN, filed by all government officials and employees before April 30 of each year, is now being used as a prosecutorial tool against the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This means everyone, from ordinary citizens to the highest officials in the land, needs to better understand and appreciate the need for accuracy and honesty with regard to this document.
As more SALN talk is expected this week, below is a guide to the controversial document – its legal basis, what data it should contain, and the main obligations of those who file and keep the document.
What the laws say
Filing the SALN is provided for in at least three laws: Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; the 1987 Constitution; and Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
R.A. No. 6713, along with its implementing rules and regulations, is commonly referred to as the “SALN law,” as it provides details on the filing and disclosure of the document.
Section 8 of R.A. No. 6713 says that “(a)ll public officials and employees, except those who serve in an honorary capacity, laborers and casual or temporary workers, shall file under oath their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and a Disclosure of Business Interests and Financial Connections and those of their spouses and unmarried children under eighteen (18) years of age living in their households.”
When to file, where to file the SALN
There are three instances when an official or employee must file his SALN: within 30 days after assumption of office, on or before April 30 of every year, and within 30 days after separation from the service.
The SALN filed by the end of April each year is referred to as the “annual filing,” which should cover the assets, liabilities, and net worth of an official as of the previous calendar year. For example, the SALN that President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III will submit this April is his SALN as of December 31, 2011.
President Aquino, Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay, along with other constitutional and national elective officials must submit their SALN with the national office of the Ombudsman.
Senators and Congressmen, meanwhile, should submit to the Secretaries of the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively; Justices, with the Clerk of Court of the Supreme Court; Judges, with the Court Administrator; and all national executive officials with the Office of the President.
This is the reason why the Supreme Court’s Clerk of Court Enriqueta Esguerra-Vidal and the Malacañang Records Office Director Marianito Dimaandal were called to testify on the SALNs of Corona as Justice and as former national executive official, respectively.
Regional and local officials and employees such as governors and mayors must file their SALN with the Deputy Ombudsman in their respective regions or the Ombudsman for Luzon, Visayas, or Mindanao.
Meanwhile, officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain must also file with the Office of the President, and those below said ranks, with the Deputy Ombudsman in their respective regions. All other public officials and employees, as defined in R.A. No. 6713, must file with the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
How to access the SALN
The law clearly states that the SALN must be available to the public. For instance, a citizen may visit the House of Representatives and be allowed to inspect the SALN of a congressman at reasonable hours. A citizen should also be allowed in law to copy or reproduce the congressman’s SALN.
The SALN can be made available to the public for 10 years from receipt of the statement. After this period, the statement may be destroyed unless it is needed in an ongoing investigation.
Specifically, the law states that it is unlawful to obtain or use the SALN for “any purpose contrary to morals or public policy” or “any commercial purpose other than by news and communications media for dissemination to the general public.”
What the SALN must contain
The current SALN form requires the following sets of data from the declarant: personal information; assets, liabilities and net worth; business interests and financial connections; identification of relatives in government service; and statement and signature.
The SALN form requires declarants to indicate personal information such as name and address, position and income, spouse’s name and his or her position, and the names and birthdates of unmarried children below 18.
Next are the details and summary of the declarant’s assets, liabilities and net worth. Assets may either be real such as lands (residential, commercial, agricultural, etc.) or houses and buildings (apartments, townhouse, etc.) or personal such as properties for personal use such as cash in banks, cash on hand, jewelry, appliances, furniture and fixtures, books, cards, stocks, bonds, and the like.
When filling out details of real properties, the law requires the declarant to indicate the following: description of real properties as to the kind, nature, exact location, acquisition mode and year, assessed value, fair market value, acquisition cost of land and/or building, including improvements made.
Improvements refer to valuable additions of betterment on real property which enhance its value. Assessed value is the appraisal or assessment of real property made by the City, Provincial or Municipal Assessor. Current fair market value refers to the highest price a property can command if it is put up for sale in an open market. It shall be based on the tax declaration.
For personal property, the declarant is required to list the kind of property, the year the property was acquired, and acquisition cost.
Liabilities, meanwhile, refer to financial liability or anything that can result to a transfer or disposal of an asset through personal loans or otherwise obtained from banks, financial institutions, GSIS, PAG-IBIG and the like. It includes not only those incurred by the declarant but also those of his/her spouse and unmarried children below 18 living in his/her household, according to CSC guidelines.
An official’s net worth is the sum of all assets (real, personal and other assets) less total liabilities.
(It should be noted the revised SALN Form to be used in 2011 onwards now requires declarants to also indicate the amount and sources of gross income, the amount of personal and family expenses, and the amount of income taxes paid.)
See Revised SALN Form for 2011 onwards.
Read CSC’s Guidelines in the Use of the SALN Form.
On the second page of the SALN form, an official or employee is asked if he has any business interest and financial connection including those of his spouse and unmarried children below 18 living in his household.
A business interest is any existing interest in any business enterprise or entity, whether as proprietor, investor, promoter, partner, shareholder, officer, managing director, executive, creditor, owner, with an expectation of return on capital and industry.
Financial connection, meanwhile, refers to any existing connection with any business enterprise or entity, whether as lawyer, legal consultant or adviser, financial or business consultant, accountant, auditor, and the like, with an expectation of remuneration for services.
The SALN form also asks the declarant if he is related to anyone within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity who is working in government. This may refer to the declarant’s spouse, parents, brothers and sisters and their spouses, nephews and nieces and their spouses, first cousins and their spouses, bilas, inso, balae, step parents, half brothers and half sisters and their spouses.
The declarant must then list down the name, position, relationship, and name and address of office of the relative.
Finally, the declarant must sign and swear under oath that the contents of his SALN are the “true statements of my assets, liabilities, net worth, business interests and financial connections…” to the best of his knowledge and information.
With his signature, the declarant also authorizes the Ombudsman or his authorized representatives to obtain and secure from all appropriate government agencies, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, such documents that may show his assets, liabilities, net worth, business interests and financial connections, including those of his spouse and unmarried children below 18 covering previous years from the year.
end-
johnny lin says
If Corona would testify and I were the Prosecutor I will always carry with me Corona resume every time I ask a question on SALN
Example:
Prosecutor:Mr. Corona: it says innyour resume, you are Harvard graduate and Summa cum laude
Corona Yes.
Pro: this is a SALN form with columns Real property and Acquisition Value and Assets
C: yes
Pro: this is deed of sale with amount of sale price of property
C: yes
Pro: mr. corona, you are Harvard graduate and Summa Cum laude, what is hard to understand to read the numbers on deed of sale and write them on Acquisition Value blank space in SALN every year
CORONA: thinking what to answer
Repea the process with bank passbook and BGE Trust account
Proc: Mr Corona, you are Harvard graduate and Summa cum laude, what is hard to understand transferring the number of bank deposits to Assets column in SALN every year
Corona: thinking to answer
Acquisition values and assets are the most important ENTRIES in the SALN because they directly answer to the purpose of SALN. Numbers written there are the exact parameters compared to the government salary of of Corona. Rest of the other numbers are not too vital in determining if the public official has unexplained wealth in SALN
That is how simple. Cuevas does not want Corona to undergo this line of questioning because it is so easy to elicit from Corona the simplicity of writing the correct numbers of acquisition value and assets. Corona could never justify his salary with his assets and acquisition values. NEVER, 100%, so CORONA WILL NOT TESTIFY.
Cuevas is relying on his technical reasoning to convince the Senators
The question: Are the senators really that dumb not to understand this simple process?
johnny lin says
In jurisprudence, STATISTICALLY, if the accused with preponderance of documented evidence he alone could explain the meaning of the documents and invokes his right to self incrimination by NOT testifying, they are almost always CONVICTED.
Corona evidence:
1. Every year, the real properties were not reported in SALN and those reported do not contain accurate Acquisition values
2. Every year his bank deposits are not reported accurately listed in SALN
3. His salary does not commensurate to abiity to buy expensive properties and amount of bank deposits every year
4. Use of children as dummy in real estate acquisitions because children have no known large income based on their ITR.
5. the ITRs did not accurately reflect all known assets resulting to tax evasion every year.
Hopeful Pinoy says
No, the senators are not dumb. In fact, they are all clever…too clever to know how to protect their own interests. I do not believe that all the senators are really interested with what is going on in the IC. For all we know, some of them are only attending the proceedings because they have to…that’s it. Some of them already have the verdict in their minds. I hope I am wrong.
J.A. says
Corona: Nation teetering towards one-man rule <– kala nya lahat ng tao gaya nya. Hari ng SC. kakahiya!
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/03/15/12/corona-nation-teetering-towards-one-man-rule
johnny lin says
After being caught of OMISSION in writing truthful facts in his SALN
The best answer Corona could say is:
“It was not meant to be
Weak Defense.
Pagkatapos mahuli na nagsinungaling ang bata ang pinakamalalim na masagot lang niya ay:
“Hindi dapat nagkaganun”
Virgilio Aviado says
Honey, I shrunk our assets!
Mon Mayuga says
I thought that Attorney Serafin Cuevas was a very intelligent lawyer. Why was it hard for him to understand what the senators/judges were saying?
Was it because he did not want to accept the decisions of the impeachment court which are not to his liking?
Obviously he was asking the impeachment court to issue a wholesale (entirety) dismissal of the complaints so that his client would be acquitted of all the charges.
rochie says
The only Atty. Mantoya I saw from the lawlist of the sc website is one MARIA BEATRIZ S. MANTOYA of San Pedro, Laguna who was admitted to the bar on May 30, 1987, with Roll No. 34566. Could she be the one who affixed her signature as a notary public? I don’t know. maybe others can help do some more research.
sam says
Corona earning millions, pina reimburse pa ang P132.00 na Mcdo bill … tsk tsk
http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/corona-trial/1268-prosecution-eyes-cj%E2%80%99s-reimbursements
Can Corona use hefty allowances for personal use?
http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/corona-trial/2348-can-corona-use-hefty-allowances-for-personal-use
sam says
An old material from Ted Failon, he explain some of the discrepancies in corona’s SALN with a little humor
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/-depth/02/10/12/ted-explains-discrepancies-coronas-salns
sam says
Corona’s vow
“Whether or not there was a TRO from the Supreme Court, I said I will open it in due time and the due time is next week. I have always said there is no problem with my dollar deposits because I can explain it,” Corona had said in an interview over dzBB on March 7.
Cuevas, however, apparently feigned ignorance, saying that he “may be asleep or elsewhere” when the Chief Justice issued this assurance.
Maybe Corona would say “I lied (with matching demonic laughter)
sam says
House Accounts Committee chairman and impeachment secretariat member Rep. Florencio Noel said some P7 million of the allowances which the defense panel claimed as income have to be liquidated with the government.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/03/14/12/closer-look-coronas-p21m-earnings
ang laki ng problema ni corona ngayon, if he survive the impeachment, maraming pang bagong problema na haharapin.
Dimasalang says
at damay na dyan lahat ng Associate Justices ng SC mga Justices sa CA at court employees and officials na di nagliliquidate ng kanilang cash advances at allowance. the CJ is dragging everybody down the pit.
Guy With A Blog says
In a way, mabuti yung nagawa ni Bayuga, inadvertedly though it may come across. DAPAT lang we know san ginagastos ang pera NATIN. Time to remind these PUBLIC officials that they did not get into PUBLIC SERVICE for profit. Sinasagot naman ng government ang mga expenses nila, BASTA JUSTIFIED and can BE LIQUIDATED WITH RECEIPTS.
You want to make profits to buy condos? Wag kayo sa gobyerno. Simple lang ng usapan.
johnny lin says
Latest ABS-CBN News: Cuevas says witnesses proved Corona assets not ill gotten wealth
Defense is in disinformation drive again because people were not distracted or surprised by Corona earning 21 Milion pesos in 10 years. Even GMA ally Civil Service Commissioner only said earning 2M a year is decent. He did not go further than that because with the lifestyle, stature and many properties owned by Corona, 2M is barely enough for expenses after deducting government taxes and household and work expenses. He should because, he probably earns the same amount every year but not enough to save to buy expensive properties in cash.
Going back to Cuevas, his team tried very hard to shelve Article 2.4 which dealt with ill gotten wealth. Now he is bringing it back to issue because his witnesses could not deflect issue that SALN non disclosure was disproven by his witnesses. SC clerk revealed Corona earned an average of 2.1 M a year. She did not have knowledge that Corona accumulated cash savings from that income, meaning she disproved that Corona had enough assets or source of income to justify his cash bank deposits and ability to buy expensive parties which were both not disclosed accurately in his SALN.
Vicente only proved that Corona property was sold to him in 1990 but it was his fault for not transferring the property resultingto register of deeds to declare that as far as they are concerned the property was still registered to the Coronas which was true. Prosecutors and Register of deeds did not lie. Vicente committed the mistake. Impeachment Court would see this as their witness fault, not the Prosecutor nor the Defense. No harm.
Cuevas not talking SALN because up to now he could not explain and when Trillanes pointed to him that Corona annual income was barely enough to sustain his lifestyle, Cuevas was shocked and dumbfounded that all he could say was, “I am not in a position to answer that”, basically saying Corona is the only person who could give details how the 2.1 million was spent in the course of one year. Cuevas threw the towel on that question because he knew even him earned more than that amount annually and spent more than 2M annually. His suits alone easily cost him quarter of a million pesos annually.
Much more for maintaining Cuevas hairdo and manly physique, he he he.
Mafe says
Johnny Lin, the defense indeed is in shambles. They should throw in the towel, pero mahigpit na hinahawakan ni TJ. I think he knows he has a way out. Warning! bleep…bleep… His confidence still high. Paano naman kasi may mga sunud-sunuran pa rin sa judiciary. Gaya don sa conference ng women judges where its president (I think an assoc SC justice) said the group pledges its continuous support…blah..blah..blah. Anyway, I’m sharing another article by rappler.com briefly discussing the blatant contradictions so far presented by the defense in 3 days. We expect more and there would be more.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/corona-trial/2482-5-contradictions-in-corona-s-defense#.T2FHaVUrpbJ.facebook
johnny lin says
Basically, Corona has no choice if his overture to resign with conditions was rejected, Raissa blog.
If he resigned voluntarily, Aquino could still pursue tax evasion, graft and corruption. He will still lose pension on conviction.
If he did not resign, fought back, which he is doing it has the probability of acquittal albeit slim, still it is the best option. If he is acquitted he becomes the hero of Anti Aquino.
In terms of privacy, either way everything would be exposed.
His only hope of salvation, some aliens invaded the Philippines for unknown reason, he he he.
lulu says
sa news kanina may sinabi na sumulat si dating Sen. Tatad kay JPE pra pahintulutan na tumestigo ang mga myembro nang Congress, nakakabahala ito sapagkat nadedelay ang trial at mag dedebate nanamn sa isang bagay na may ruling na sa IC.
johnny lin says
It was their consensus in their meeting last night that the income reportedly earned by Corona was barely enough for his annual expenses, making it impossible for him to explain the assets he did not report in his SALN.
Whereas, there are many people who were enlightened how polrk barrel works in government with political bargaining. They wanted to keep that issue burning but, tough luck, it is irrelevant to the contested remaing 3 Articles.
Tatad is back to stir their followers because many were dismayed by finding that Vicente was duped to buying their property officiated by unlicensed notary in Makati arranged by Corona himself who is a lawyer.
Guy With A Blog says
As I mentioned in another post here in Raissa’s blog, wherever Tatad is, for sure, may PR attempt to confuse and obfuscate any moral and ethical issues. He hasn’t proven me wrong yet.
Mafe says
Guy with a blog,
Tatad has no intentions of proving you wrong. That’s his bread and butter. Ignominious he is. My blood boils every time I see his shadow. Yet I’m amazed that he’s still here. Marami kasi siyang parukyano sa gobyerno.
johnny lin says
Latest News: Philippine Star March 15 Columnist Federico Pascual
Revelation of SC Clerk Bayuga that Corona earned 21 million pesos is exposing the intelligenceop of some columnists like Pascual. Although people are entitled to their own belief but writing their sltupid reason for their belief without detailed explanation made them look dumber than grade school students.
Pascual is a perfect example by writing that the gross income of 21 M of Corona was proof that Corona could afford to purchase all his properties.
First the 21M was accumulated gross income up to 2011, calculated yearly income would average to 2.1 M a year. The sum of 2 expensive properties cost at least 18, 000,000 which were bought no later than 2009. At the end of 2009 Corona would have earned only 16,800,000 which was not even enough to buy the two properties at that time. How could he buy the properties when the gross income was not even enough to buy the properties. That means Corona did not spend a penny in 7 years from his gross income.
Second, 21 M was without all deductions and expenses for 10 years when by prudent calculation, almost nothing is left from the gross income
Do the math and compare with intelligence of Mr. Pascual. He should apologize to his fans for making them also look dumb if they believe what he wrote in his column today.
One small mistake destroys all perceived credible knowledge. What a shame.
sam says
Sen Trillianes also did mentioned “halos wala na natira”
Mafe says
napangawa nga si cuevas. walang maisagot. kung gaya ng dati, meron siyang ready answer, dito wala.
Alizarin Viridia says
after reading just one of his columns LONG AGO, I stopped reading this guy, it’s dumb and retrogressive.
john c. jacinto says
pala-absent si pascual sa klase niya sa elementary math. he can’t be trusted with numbers as well as with his writing. he’s a haoshao columnist, plain and simple.
Ella Tovara says
Federico Pascual please review the four simple operations in math please. If some people consider you as magaling na manunulat … pagbali baliktarin mo man … di po magtugma ang kita ni theif corona at ang kanyang pera sa bangko – peso – lang yon ah at ang worth ng kanyang mga ari-arian.
Elena Lemi says
Very true & I agree. May dollar account pa na di nabuksan pa sa IC. Remember the 700k nakalagay doon kasama sa specimen signature ni thief corona.
Miguel says
Federico Pascual unfortunately is turning out to be a joke. He is shown to be regularly and consistently against the Aquino government, pro- GMA & Corona. He would occasionally sprinkle his column with anti-corruption pieces but in general, his train of thought (perhaps leading to his pockets), choice of words & general bent leans towards a safe conclusion that he’s a paid hack. In trying to be fair, I try to post comments on his column but 95% of the time, they get deleted – certainly not for bad writing, wrong grammar or personal attacks – 95% of the published columns are guilty of one or more of these sins!
dtranscriber says
@Baltazar
About forensic examination of the document
And what about the age of the document? Surely, the age of the paper can be done or they can give an estimate of the age of the paper to prove if it’s just made yesterday or 20 years ago.