Defense: Charina abroad for around 10 years now

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) - The finance director of Megaworld said Chief Justice Renato Corona and his wife paid for the P6.1 million-McKinley Hill property, which was registered under the name of their daughter, Ma. Charina.

In his testimony, Megaworld’s Giovanni Ng said the chief magistrate and his wife were the ones who made payments for the P6.1 million-property even if the deed of absolute sale was in the name of their daughter. 

Private lawyer Joseph Joemer Perez presented a total of 27 official receipts, which Ng said were in the names of the Corona couple. 

The buyers’ names, in this case the Corona couple, were included in the information sheet, the presentation of which was objected by the defense. 

Perez explained that the buyers’ information sheet needed to be presented since it ran contrary to what the chief magistrate showed in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth. 

He said there is a letter dated September 8, 2008 coming from Corona asking Megaworld to name Charina as the buyer. 

In a press conference, defense lawyer Karen Jimeno said this is not unusual and does not show irregularities. 

She said it has been established in the past that Corona was the attorney-in-fact for the daughter. 

Lawyer Tranquil Salvador added that Charina has been abroad for around 10 years now. 

Later in his cross-examination, however, Ng admitted that in actual practice, the names of the buyer may be different from those recorded in original receipts. 

“At the time of time the original receipts were issued, our accounting officer has not been informed of the [assignment of attorney-in-fact],” he said. 

He also admitted he does not know the circumstances behind the appointment of Corona as his daughter’s attorney-in-fact. 

40% discount for Bellagio? 

Meanwhile, Perez tried to source information from Ng as to the sale of the penthouse unit in Bellagio. 

Ng, however, admitted that he is not privy to the prices of the units, except that he “researched” about it from his colleagues in Megaworld. 

His testimony on the matter was stricken out, however, since it was declared as “hearsay.” 

Asked later by Senator Aquilino Pimentel III what was Perez’s point in asking Ng about the prices, the private prosecutor claimed: “To be candid, the witness informed us that the chief justice received a 40% discount, or P10 million for the property.” 

Pimentel asked which article the receiving of discount can be included. “There is no article which says [he accepted discounts].” 

Perez claimed it can also be attributed to article 3 of the impeachment complaint, which discusses the alleged lack of integrity on the part of Corona. 

Asked later by Senator Franklin Drilon if the purchase price of P30,525 was a discounted price, Ng said “yes.” 

He said, however, that their marketing department would know better the reasons behind the discount. He also does not know how big the discount was. 

He said a discount, based on his conversations with the marketing department, could go up to as much as 20%. He noted, however, that the marketing department may also have anchored any discounts based on the gloomy sentiment at that time in 2008, which was the onset of the global recession. 

The impeachment body has already subpoenaed Megaworld First Vice President for marketing and project head Noli Hernandez to shed light on the pricing of the Bellagio units.