3 questions for Chief Justice Corona this SALN season

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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines - Bayan Muna party-list Representative Neri Colmenares on Wednesday raised three questions for the Chief Justice as government officials and employees conformed with an April 30 deadline for the filing of their statements of assets and liabilities.

Colmenares said the public is wondering about three things in this "SALN season":

• How much was Chief Justice Renato Corona worth in 2011? 
• Did he declare his bank deposits as part of his assets?
• Will he allow the public to see his SALN?

"We're wondering how much is in his SALN (considering) that he still refuses to divulge it despite the negative impression and suspicions it generates," Colmenares said.

Colmenares, one of the prosecutors in the impeachment trial of Corona, said he hopes the chief magistrate will list down the dollar accounts mentioned during the trial at the Senate.

PSBank President Pascual Garcia III had said in his testimony that Corona owns five dollar accounts in the bank. This could not be opened, however, without the consent of the depositor, as mandated by the Foreign Currency Deposit Act.

Corona was accused of betrayal of public trust for failing to disclose his SALN.

The Supreme Court has a resolution that bars the public from seeing the SALN of the justices.

During the trial, however, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile ordered the Supreme Court clerk of court to show Corona's SALN, which became the center of controversy.

Colmenares said that the dollar deposits should reflect in Corona's SALN, especially after the disclosure of the PSBank president.

"Otherwise, he will be liable for additional charges the moment the dollar accounts show that they are more than his income," he said.

Corona's trial at the Senate resumes on May 7. 

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