SC issues TRO on CJ's alleged dollar accounts

Posted at 02/09/2012 5:05 PM | Updated as of 02/09/2012 11:44 PM

Palace says TRO 'brazen effort to derail trial'

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) - The Supreme Court (SC), in a vote of 8-5, issued on Thursday an indefinite temporary restraining order (TRO) on the subpoena issued by the impeachment court on the alleged dollar accounts of Chief Justice Renato Corona in Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank).

In a press conference, SC spokesman and Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said the high court took note of the provision under Foreign Currency Deposit Act. The law specifically states that a disclosure of foreign currency bank accounts can only be made upon written permission from the depositor.

The 8 magistrates who voted for the TRO are: Associate Justices Teresita De Castro, Arturo Brion, Roberto Abad, Jose Perez, Lucas Bersamin, Martin Villarama, Bienvenido Reyes and Jose Mendoza.

The 5 who dissented are: Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Mariano del Castillo, Diosdado Peralta, Maria Lourdes Sereno, and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

He said the halt order is “timely” since the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, has not yet tackled the matter lengthily.

On Thursday, questions were posed by several senator-judges on PSBank President Pascual Garcia in connection with the alleged dollar bank accounts of Corona in PSBank.

Garcia said he stands by the provision of the law and that any violation of this would open him to criminal liabilities.

No TRO yet on Corona petition

Meanwhile, Marquez said the full court has not yet issued a halt order on the petition of Corona himself, which sought a stop to the impeachment trial proceedings.

He said this was after Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco inhibited himself from the proceedings. Velasco’s son is a signatory to the impeachment complaint against Corona.

Velasco, who got the case in yesterday’s raffle, only inhibited at around 2:00 p.m. this afternoon.

“And because of this, no justice is in charge yet,” Marquez said. What the court did, as presided by Carpio, was to give the parties affected 10 days within which to comment.

“A TRO may be issued if required later,” he said.

Justices' subpoena

In a related development, Marquez also said the SC is now “drafting a set of guidelines” in case a justice is subpoenaed before the impeachment court.

He did not explain further, noting only that the full court “took notice” of the decision of the Senate in yesterday’s proceedings.

In a resolution read by the secretary-general of the impeachment body, the Senate said the intention of the request of the prosecution is to bring to court documents related to the internal deliberations of the SC and to let the justices testify on it.

However, the Senate said: “This court could not do so without transgressing on the principles of the separation of powers.”

The Senate said it respects the internal rules of the SC, which is enshrined in the Constitution. “The court sessions are executive in character with only the members of the court present, court deliberations are confidential and shall not be disclosed to outside parties except as may be provided herein or as authorized by the court.”

Asked to testify by the prosecution were Justices Martin Villarama, Ma. Lourdes Sereno, Bienvenido Reyes and Presbitero Velasco Jr.

They were asked to testify on the decision of the SC to transmit to the full court an SC division’s decision reiterating the win of the flight attendants of the Philippine Airlines (PAL).

Palace says TRO 'brazen effort to derail proceedings'
 
Malacañang, meantime, called as a “brazen effort to derail the proceedings” the TRO issued by the Supreme Court on the subpoena issued by the impeachment court on the alleged dollar accounts of Chief Justice Renato Corona in PSBank.
 
“While the supporters of the Chief Justice clearly lacked the numbers to go even further and try to stop the proceedings, the TRO handed down by the Court is a brazen effort to derail the proceedings,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a statement.
 
“The Senate has said before, that it will assert its prerogatives, and uphold its right to do its duty.”
 
Lacierda maintained that the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over the Senate sitting as an impeachment court. 
 
“This is a defining moment for the Senate. We have always maintained that impeachment is the proper procedure for resolving questions of integrity and fitness for office. The framers of our Constitution clearly intended the Senate to be the sole authority in all matters related to an impeachment trial. The provisions of our Constitution clearly say so,” Lacierda said.
 
“We maintain that there a sober reading of the Constitution clearly shows the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over the Senate in impeachment trials. But from the very start, the Chief Justice, his lawyers, and defenders, have threatened to provoke a constitutional crisis: now, they have thrown down the gauntlet.”


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25 comments

scatterbrains

i want corona to be removed. but before anyone gets too excited by the sc tro on the dollar accounts, understand that the tro is merely to give the sc a chance to rule on whether not to intervene (in this case, only about the issue of absolute bank secrecy of dollar accounts). be aware that the sc can say, after parties' briefs/comments are filed, that they (sc) do not have jurisdiction in the case. it would be stupid for the sc to say outright or motu proprio, before waiting for all briefs to be filed, to say that they do not have jurisdiction or just dedmahin na lang petition for tro.


THE SUPREME COURT IS NOT INTERESTED IN CLEANSING ITS RANK

The integrity of the SUPREME COURT must be maintained at all times.When its integrity is being questioned, they should be the one to initiate to seek the truth and not hide behind technicalities because the truth shall set you free.

The Supreme Court and its supporters do not want to have a Supreme Court whose integrity is beyond reproach. They want to maintain the status quo, which is shrouded with political patronage, and corruption.

Please ask the people in the street, what they perceive of the Justice System in the Philippines.

Rodrigo Francisco

SC has no power to intervene in impeachment -- US Supreme Court

It is settled jurisprudence in the US -- from where we borrow much of ours -- that the SC cannot and should not intervene or take part in impeachment.

In the landmark case involving Federal court Judge Walter Nixon (who was impeached and convicted by the US Senate in 1989, and who appealed his case to the US appelate court and SC), the US Supreme Court UNANIMOUSLY ruled:

1. Impeachment is a "nonjusticiable political question."
2. Only the Senate has the "sole" power to try and decide ALL cases of impeachment and the Courts, including the Supreme Court, cannot intervenr or take part in it.
3. Interfering in impeachment will jeopardize any subsequent criminal trial that an impeached official could face and violates the principle of checks and balances.

The decision (506 US 224)was written by no less than then US Chief Justice William Rehnquist. It said in part, referring to the SOLE power of the Senate to try and decide impeachment cases:

1. “We think that the word ‘sole’ is of considerable significance. Indeed, the word ‘sole’ appears only one other time in the Constitution—with respect to the House of Representatives' "sole Power of Impeachment." Art. I, Sec. 2, cl. 5 (emphasis added). The common sense meaning of the word ‘sole’ is that the Senate alone shall have authority to determine whether an individual should be acquitted or convicted. The dictionary definition bears this out. ‘Sole’ is defined as ‘having no companion,’ ‘solitary,’ ‘being the only one,’ and ‘functioning . . . independently and without assistance or interference.’ Webster's Third New International Dictionary 2168 (1971). If the courts may review the actions of the Senate in order to determine whether that body ‘tried’ an impeached official, it is difficult to see how the Senate would be "functioning . . . independently and without assistance or interference."

The wording of the section on impeachment in the Philippine and US constitutions are almost exactly the same.

2. “... the Framers [of the constitution] recognized that most likely there would be two sets of proceedings for individuals who commit impeachable offenses—the impeachment trial and a separate criminal trial. In fact, the Constitution explicitly provides for two separate proceedings. ... The Framers deliberately separated the two forums to avoid raising the specter of bias and to ensure independent judgments.”

3. ... judicial review would be inconsistent with the Framers' insistence that our system be one of checks and balances. In our constitutional system, impeachment was designed to be the only check on the Judicial Branch by the Legislature. On the topic of judicial accountability, Hamilton wrote: ‘The precautions for their responsibility are comprised in the article respecting impeachments. They are liable to be impeached for mal-conduct by the house of representatives, and tried by the senate, and if convicted, may be dismissed from office and disqualified for holding any other. This is the only provision on the point, which is consistent with the necessary independence of the judicial character, and is the only one which we find in our own constitution in respect to our own judges.’"


Transparency and Accountability

Renato Corona is accountable to the people because he is a public servant and he owes the transparency demanded at hand to the nation. The issue at bar is directly related to the character required of him as CJ. It is called for by the mounting evidence piling up against him. And, it is a question within the scope of his function.

Refusing to offer the information demanded to clear his name creates enormous inertia of negative perception beyond one can imagine. It forms a great barrier that may not allow him to continue and perform his job effectively. Can anyone read the signs on the wall?


Boycott psbank

Did PSBank violate AMLA rules?

There is an Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) that all the banks are supposed to follow, otherwise they themselves are subject to penalties and sanctions.

Did PSBank report the questionable deposits of Corona? He could not have deposited the large amounts without being covered by the AMLA, which are:

Covered transactions are single transactions in cash or other equivalent monetary instrument involving a total amount in excess of Five Hundred Thousand (P500,000) Pesos within one (1) banking day

-the amount involved is not commensurate with the business or financial capacity of the client;

-there is a deviation from the client’s profile/past transactions;

So, did PSBank exercise its functions as required, or did it violate the AMLA and "accommodated" Corona? It was most likely they did the latter. The Senate should look into this.

Foreign Currency Deposit Act specifically states that a disclosure of foreign currency bank accounts can only be made upon written permission from the depositor.
The above paragraph these bankers keep saying like a litany.
What these bankers do not divulge is that such rule only applies to foreign business investors. Corona is not a foreign investors.

Boycott psbank n metrobank with same owner.
Sila ang pasimuno ng pagfile ng TRO
Sa supreme court because if hindi sila
Nagfile hindi naman pwede maglabas ng TRO ang supreme court
for the love of the Filipino people and our country
I will withdraw all of my accounts
From these banks.
Ang BPI hindi humingi ng TRO
ang psbank lang
Para pagtakpan si corona.
Si rizal nagpabaril para sa atin.
Tayo, the least we can do is
Show our disgust to Psbank n Metrobank
By withdrawung our accounts and sending
Them a note that we are disgusted with them
Protecting a person who stole from us
And kept it in their bank.
Parang ninakawan ka ni JUAN,
ipinatago nya kay PEDRO,
pinuntahan mo si PEDRO,
at sinabi mo kay PEDRO,
isoli mo sakin yung pera na ninakaw ni JUAN.
Ang sagot sayo ni PEDRO,
MANIGAS ka, kikita kami sa deposit na yan
Dahil lahat ng deposit dito may kita kami
Mula sa mga uutang sa amin.
Interest na Ibibigay namin sa depositors mga 3%. lang
Pero 10% singil namin sa uutang samin
Tulad ng business, housing at car loan
Tubong lugaw.
Wala kaming pakialam sayo kahit ninakaw sayo yung pera.


Mga rallyista na supporters

Mga rallyista na supporters ni corana ipatigil naraw ang impeachment dahil Sayang lang ang ginagastos ng gobyerno at sana ibigay nalang sa kanila at sila ay nagugutom na.....tsk tsk tsk .....talagang may mga kapwa tayong mga Filipino na Hindi nakakaunawa....


Actually hindi naman talaga

Actually hindi naman talaga ganon karami ang sumali sa rally, yung iba nadamay na lang dahil wala na silang madaanan dahil sa nabarahan na ng mga perwisyong bayaran ang daanan. Nagtext nga sa akin ang mga barkada ko nastranded daw sila sa daanan, baka raw kasama na sila sa nabilang na akala ay supporters ni Corona.Tinanong nga raw nila ang mga katabi nila, ang sabi wala lang nakiki-usyoso lang kung anong nangyayari, baka raw makita sila sa TV. Tapos yung iba naman, nagtitinda dahil pagkakataon na nila yun, pero yung iba naman, nagmamasid lang kung may madudukutan.

I wonder who among the people are enjoying in the corruption legacy or I should not wonder because the answer is clear for those making tons of money out from it

Mga rallyista na supporters

Mga rallyista na supporters ni corana ipatigil naraw ang impeachment dahil Sayang lang ang ginagastos ng gobyerno at sana ibigay nalang sa kanila at sila ay nagugutom na.....tsk tsk tsk .....talagang may mga kapwa tayong mga Filipino na Hindi nakakaunawa....


It is time to impeach these 8

It is time to impeach these 8 "justices". These are corrupt thugs in robes. They are Corona's disgusting minions. It is totally useless to have a Supreme Court occupied by these 8 justices who are anti-Filipino. These 8 justices have no interest in preserving justice in this country. They are there only to preserve their interests and make themselves wealthy like Corona.
The only reason why they don`t want to show the truth is because Corona`s dollar accounts are most likely much higher that $700,000.00.


biased ,

we can see how the SC has been biased to it's own , GOd Bless the Phillipines, it is FUN in the Philippines :D :D