Prosecutors: Corona got P10-million discount
Tuesday, 31 January 2012 00:00
PROSECUTORS yesterday said Real Estate developer Megaworld gave Chief Justice Renato Corona a 40-percent discount when he bought a penthouse unit in Taguig City in 2009. Private prosecutor Joseph Joemer Perez, during the impeachment proceedings, alleged that Megaworld gave the Chief Justice the P10-million discount in the purchase of the Bellagio penthouse at the Fort.
"We believe this is highly material because it goes into the valuation of the property in the SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth)," he said. Perez said this allegation will fall under Article 3, which accuses Corona of betraying public trust by "failing to meet and observe the stringent standards under Article 8, Section 7 (3) of the Constitution that provides that a member of the Judiciary must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence."
"We believe that a person with integrity and probity, especially a high public official would not accept a P10-million discount from a developer which might be having pending litigation," he said. During the trial, Giovanni Ng, finance director of Megaworld, told the Senate impeachment court that the Corona spouses were the known buyers of the 203-sqm lot as indicated in the request for reservation, buyer's information sheet, and official receipts for the McKinley property.
Ng, however, said that after the property had been fully paid, the developer received a single-page handwritten letter from the Corona couple requesting it to put the title in the name of their daughter, Ma. Charina. On direct examination by Perez, Ng said Ma. Charina's name was never mentioned in the documents involving the property, including the official receipts which were in the name of "Corona, Renato C. and Cristina R." "The name written as the buyer (in the request for reservation) is a certain Cristina R. Corona. The name indicated in the buyer's information sheet is Renato C. Corona and spouse's name is Cristina R. Corona," said Ng in his testimony.
He also explained the reason why the deed of absolute sale for the property was under the name of the daughter when it was the parents who made the payments. "We received a letter indicating that we accomplish the deed of absolute sale for Lot 1, Block 16, Phase 2 of McKinley Hill in favor of Ma. Charina R. Corona," Ng said, referring to the hand-written letter dated Sept. 8, 2008 signed by the Corona couple. The witness also submitted copies of the 27 official receipts reflecting payments made by the Corona couple. PNA
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