Where CJ may be most vulnerable
The impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona does not only accuse him of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of the public trust, but also of graft and corruption. And it’s on the third impeachable offense that Corona, who has strenuously denied any involvement in wrongdoing whether in and out of the Court’s chambers, may be the most vulnerable.
The impeachment complaint says that Corona has acquired a 135-square meter property at ritzy Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. If we’re to go by current market prices of P100,000 per sq m in Makati and other exclusive enclaves of the rich, Corona’s property is easily worth P13.5 million, and that’s quite possibly for a bare condominium unit. Add to that the finishing cost and high-end furniture and appliances, and the total cost could easily double the amount, or around P26 million. Could he have earned that amount from his basic salary and allowances as associate justice and chief justice? Last I checked, the salary of the President was only P60,000/month or P720,000 a year, and the chief justice’s, much less. So where did Corona get P26 million? You do the math.
Consider that the impeachment complaint also says that Corona has failed and refused to account for collections for the Judiciary Development Fund and the Special Allowance for the Judiciary. For sure, the senator-judges would be grilling him as to whether this is true. For the Chief Justice to be dipping his fingers into the cookie jar while no one was looking is unseemly—and a criminal act. Taken in the context of his recent acquisition of several pieces of property and his wife’s alleged financial indiscretions while at the helm of the government-owned Camp John Hay resort complex, Corona must adequately answer the corruption charge hurled against him by 188 congressmen.
—REENA MANLAPAZ,
