MANILA, Philippines - Do impeachment chief prosecutor Niel Tupas and Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) Katipunan branch manager Anabelle Tiongson know each other?

The question is on the mind of Senator-judge Jinggoy Estrada, who vowed on Tuesday "to get to the bottom" of the issue regarding alleged leakage of a confidential bank document on the alleged dollar accounts of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

"Yesterday, I heard Mrs. Tiongson say that she does not know Congressman Tupas," Estrada told ANC after Tuesday's hearing in the Senate.

"I received some information that they both know each other. I'll ask these questions tomorrow," he said.

Estrada said Tiongson was nervous when she declared on Monday that the bank document containing information on Corona's alleged dollar accounts is "fake."

He wants the PSBank manager to return to the witness stand on Wednesday to clarify the issue.

"In my own opinion, iyung sinabi niyang it was fake, she was really very nervous at the time. She kept on smiling, she didn't know what to say. She was always asking her counsel about what to answer," he said.

He added that Tingson and the PSBank President Pascual Garcia III gave contradicting statements to the impeachment court.

"Nagtuturuan kasi iyung dalawa (bank president and manager). Ang sabi ng bank manager, finorward na nila sa head office. Iyung head office naman, nung tinanong siya, tinanong din ni Senate President Enrile at sinagot din ng bank presidente na iyung original, nandoon sa branch," he said.

"Dapat talaga, ipa-subpoena iyung original documents," Estrada added.

'Poor script'

He downplayed prosecution panel member Rep. Reynaldo Umali's statement that he got the bank document from a "little lady."

"Alam mo, that is a very, very poor script. Kumbaga sa pelikula, hindi kikita iyon," he said, adding that the public won't believe Umali's story on the "little lady."

"What I want to know is, if the bank manager or even members of the prosecution violated RA 1405 in leaking the supposedly confidential documents," he added. "I'll get to the bottom of this."

"I am more concerned about the leakage of these confidential documents. We have to protect the clients of the bank," he said, citing "massive withdrawals" from bank accounts during the impeachment trial of his father, former President Joseph Estrada.

"Sa akin, mahalaga kung paano na-obtain itong mga dokumentong ito. That piece of document was attached by the prosecution in a piece of supplemental request for a subpoena. That was the sole basis for them to summon the bank accounts of Chief Justice Corona," he said.

He added that the prosecution should have made sure that it presented an authentic document.

"That is supposed to be their (prosecution) look-out, not us," he said. "The burden of proof should lie on them. Dapat, sila ang magbigay ng ebidensiya sa amin, for us to appreciate it. Kami po ang maghuhusga at the end of the day."

"Sila ang magpiprisinta ng ebidensiya, hindi kami ang maghahanaop ng ebidensiya para sa kanila," he added.

Estrada, meanwhile, said it will be up to the other senators to decide if Corona's lawyers themselves will be cited for contempt for their claim that the Palace tried to bribe the senator-judges to defy the Supreme Court's temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Senate's subpoenas for Corona's dollar accounts at PSBank.

"I've already said my piece lambasting the members of the defense panel. It's up to the other senators if they want to reprimand or cite them for contempt," he said.