Time for Chief Justice to render justice to all

When news about some newly discovered real estate in the United States purportedly owned by Chief Justice Renato Corona’s family broke, his lawyers went to town with all sorts of explanation. Tranquil Salvador III was at the forefront, saying it was actually owned by the Chief Justice’s daughter with wherewithal from her own hard work and her husband’s. He dismissed the news as just another desperate and malicious attempt to further besmirch his client’s reputation and integrity.

But before his lawyer’s spit hit the ground, the client himself also went to town with his own spin: The property in question belongs to his daughter who herself was doing well financially abroad. It was hers alone; in fact, her husband had signed a waiver on the conjugality of the property. [Under Philippine laws, any such waiver by any spouse during the marriage is void. In most parts of the United States, such waiver trumps conjugality and is legally permissible. Corona knows a bit of American law—from his Harvard days?]

Alas, contrary to the idea Corona might have wanted to convey, the “waiver” adverted to is actually quasi-conclusive proof that it was the parents’ pure generosity that went into the daughter’s ostensible purchase. In that waiver, the Filipino parents’ general distrust toward in-laws had remarkably come into play.  But as “Filipino” as that may be, the daughter herself can always step up to the plate  to remove any doubt with proof of her independent means that enabled her to acquire exclusive ownership of that property.

At any rate, having heard it from the horse’s mouth, what are we to make of Salvador’s “palusot”?  Obviously, he was lying through his teeth—and with a straight face!  (That should be sickening for Filipino lawyers who are compelled under pain of disbarment to endure “Mandatory Continuing Legal Education” (MCLE) seminars where they often hear Salvador lecturing and educating them about the better ways to make the administration of justice work… blah, blah, blah. The only thing where he will probably succeed as an “educator” is teaching lawyers how to twist and turn the facts around to suit their clients’ purposes.)

And this raises questions about their own truthfulness whenever they speak on their client’s behalf. Is it still any wonder that Corona’s trustworthiness has nosedived so low, according to the last survey? That’s for insulting the people’s intelligence!

In fairness, however, to his lawyers, it may be that Corona has been parsimonious with the truth himself, and that they are left to their own devices to fill in the blanks. Thus, it is truly time for them to shut up already and leave it now to their client to take an oath and tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth before the impeachment tribunal. It is long past due for no less than a chief justice himself to render justice to one and all, and to satisfy the public clamor for accountability and transparency once and for all.

—STEVE Y. VESPERA, ESQ,

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