Opposition to Request for Subpoenae Feb1 A1017

8/3/2019 Opposition to Request for Subpoenae Feb1 A1017

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SITTING AS THE I M P E A C H M E ~ T COURT ~ y : ~ IN THE MATTER OF THEIMPEACHMENT OFRENATO C. CORONA ASCHIEF JUSTICE OF THESUPREME COURT OF THEPHILIPPINES.REPRESENTATIVES NIELC. TUPAS, JR., JOSEPHEMILIO A. ARAYA,LORENZO R. TANAnA III,REYNALDO V. UMALI,ARLENE J. BAG-AO, et ale

iCasel No. 002-2011

1r _MM M___M ______ N ~ ~ ____ __________ w ____ ________ ____________ __________________~ - ~

OPPOSITION TO THE REQUESTFOR ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAE

I(pS Bank) ChiefJustice Renato C. Corona ("CJ Corona"), by cqunsel, to present the bases

of his opposition to a request for subpoena by the J>rosecj.ttion, without waiving hisright to file the appropriate legal remedy to question the leblity of these proceedings,respectfully states:

I

Opposition to fuquest for Issllance of5 tbpoenaforPSBankPage t 0/6


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1. In a Request for Issuance "Of Subpoenae d f t ~ d 31 January 2012, theHouse of Representatives seeks the issuance of subpdenae ad te.rtijicandflw and

IIsubpoenae dtlce.r teCIIW to require the President/Manager/oJPer authorized officers of

PS Bank G/F PSBank Center, 777 Paseo de Roxas Ave. comer Sedeiio Street, 1vlakati,City, and or any of the PSBank branches which may be involved herewith, to testifyand bring t}:te orig1naI and certified true copies of Specimen SiguatuJ::e Cards of thebank account which won phpl Million in the PSBank: Monthly Millions Raffle

Promo; Monthly Bank Statements from the time of opening up to January 2012; andodler bank accounts, including time deposits, money mark"t placements, peso/dollaraccounts and the like, in the name of RENATO COR


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I4. Rule 128, Section 3 of the Rules of Com1: istates that ce)vidence is,admissible when it is relevant to the issue and is not e x c ~ u d e d by'the law or theserules." Conversely, the Rule advises us that irrelevant e v i d e n ~ e is not admissible.

5. I t is therefore obvious that the testimony ofl the person named in the,

Request and the documents identified therein ate dearly iutendedby the prosecutionto prove pa.ragraph 2.4 of the Impeachment Complaint, whiFh states:

2.4. Respondent is likewise suspected and accused lof having accumulatedill-gotten wealth, acquiring assets of high values ,and keepirlg bank accounts withhuge deposits. It has becu n'po.tted that Respondcut has, a.hong others, a 300-sq.mete.!: apa.ttment in a posh Mega World Property d e v e l o p m e n ~ at the l ~ o r t in Taguig.Has he reported this, as he is constitutionally required under !Art. Xl, Sec. 17 of theConstitution in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities and *et Worth (SALN,)? Isthis acquisition sustained and duly supported by his income asl a public official? Sincehis assumption as Associate and subsequently, Chief Justice,1 has he complied withhis duty ofpublic disclosru:e? (Emphasis supplied)

6. However, this Honorable Court already ruledl that the above patagraph,i2.4 does not contain statements of ultimate fact and must pe deemed excluded from

the Impeachment Trial. This Honorable Court c a t ~ g o r i c a l l y disallowed thei

prosecution from introducing any evidence relating to s ~ d patagraph 2.4. On this,

score alone, the subject Request must perforce be d ~ i e d [or being irrcievanl;I

immaterial, and disallowed by this Honorable Court_

7. In this regatd, CJ Corona reiterates that p a t a g r ~ p h 2.4 is merely based onI

"reports" and "suspicion", contrary to the joint v e r i f i c a t i o ~ of the Complainants that,!

the "the allegations therein (the Complaint) ate true of own knowledge." The"reports" and "suspicions" ate also contrary to the req$ements of the Rules of

Opposition to Requestf4r Issuance rrfSubpoenaforPSRankPagd rrf6


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Court, whidl have suppletoxy application, that allegations inl the Complaint must be of,"ultimate facts." (Sec. 3, Rule 3).

8, From the foregoing discussion, it is clear that paragraph . 2.4 of the!IImpeachment Complaint relating to respondent's s u p p o s e ~ "ill-gotten wealth, assetsI

of high values and bank accounts 'with huge deposits" was cbrrectly deemed unwrittenI

by tllls Honorable Court in the impeachment complaint.

9. Considering that paragraph 2.4 1S deemed I unwritten, any evidenceI

relating thereto is inadmissible and irrelevant.

10. As always emphasized by CJ Corona, A r t i c l ~ II of the ImpeachmentIComplaint, merely charges CJ Corona with the following:

IRESPONDENT COMMITTED C U L P A B ~ VIOLATIONOF THE CONSTITUTION AND/OR B E T R A Y I ~ D THEPUBLIC TRUST WHEN HE FAILED T


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13. In this case, the testimony of the officers of pSBank 011 the purported,;bank account and raffle w-innings of CJ Corona and!01 his wife, as well as thepresentation thereof, are cle!!rly :irrelevant and immaterial to the issue of whether ornot CJ Corona failed to his disclose his SALN to the PUhlib. The presentation of thei,requested bank documents and testimony of the maUers 1ubject of the Request aretherefore improper. I

14. From the f o r t ~ g o i n g , it is clear that the Requfst is nothing more but a1

b11lzen attempt to introduce irrelevant and immaterial e v i d ~ c e in these proceedings,iIin violation of CJ Corona's right to due process. I

PRAYERi

WHEREFORE, in consideration of the provisions of law, jm-isprodence andIarguments adduced, it is respectfully p11lyed that this Impeachment Court DENYI

complainants' Request for the Issuance ofSubpoenae datedi31 January 2012.I1i

Other reliefs, just or equitable under the c i r c u m s t a n c ~ s , are likewise prayed for.

lVIakati for Pasay City, 31 January 2012.i1Respectfully Submitted by iCounsel for' . ato C. Cqrona.

JOSEM.R .II .PTR No. 2643183; 1 /11; Milici City

IBP LRN 02570 August 20, 2001 (Lif4time)Roll of Attorneys No. 37065 :

.!vIeLE Exemption No. I-000176iOpplJSiJioll 1


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DENNIS'P. MANALOPTR No. 2666920; 5January 2011, Makdti CityIBP No. 839371; 3 January 2 0 1 ~ , M a k a ~ CityRoll No. 40950, 12 Apri11996 IMCLE Compliance No. m-0009471, 26 A ~ r i I 2 0 1 O

!HOOS- ?qOS,f.-d.:.JilON PANELCopies furnished:

House of RepresentativesBatasan ComplexBatasan Hills, Quezon City

DAn

Senators of the Republic of the PhilippinesGSIS BuildingM ~ c a p ~ I 1 U g h v v a y Pasay City

IRECEIVED:B,,,-'-:;;;;,t..:.--++--

iOPPOSt'tiOII to Reqttestfl,r I S S t t a m ~ of Sttbpoenafor PSBankI p(tgc 6 oj6

Opposition to Request for Subpoenae Feb1 A1017

Documents

Transcript of Opposition to Request for Subpoenae Feb1 A1017