MANILA, Philippines – The camp of Chief Justice Renato Corona will protest the move of the prosecution to include the income tax returns of the chief magistrate and his family as evidence in the impeachment trial, a defense lawyer said yesterday.
Tranquil Salvador III said the defense panel will also question the presentation of Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares as witness in the impeachment court. “They cannot do that. It is irrelevant to the case,” Salvador said. He said they would challenge the prosecution if and when they present Henares to the impeachment court. Salvador argued that the release of the income tax return of any individual needs the approval of President Aquino who has been advocating the removal of Corona from office. Aquino also heads the ruling Liberal Party, whose camp has been vocal about the impeachment of Corona. Salvador admitted that they were saddened by the prosecution’s move to link the issue of Corona’s alleged illegally acquired wealth to the non-disclosure of the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) as discussed in Article 2 of the eight articles of impeachment.
“That’s still a dispute. We are bit saddened by this… this (process) should have been completed before the House committee of justice and determined on the outset,” he said. Echoing the statement of a fellow counsel that the prosecution is on a fishing expedition, Salvador lamented the “investigation has become contemporaneous with the trial.”
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