Corona remitted US$350,000 abroad amid Xmas rush Exclusive by Raïssa Robles Defenders of Chief Justice Renato Corona say the damning Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report on his peso and dollar bank transactions is misleading and deceptive, if not outright fake. I took a look at the AMLC document . My copy is the same one that was released by House Speaker [...]
More questions about that P11M "cash advance" stated by Chief Justice Corona in SEVEN of his SALNs
My Exclusive By Raïssa Robles ONE OF THE THINGS Chief Justice Renato Corona has to prove to the impeachment court is that he correctly filled up his SALNs (Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth) and whatever errors or omissions they contain are minor and not enough to get him kicked out of office. One section of his SALN has [...]
SC justices, military & police top brass should disclose their SALNs to public – CSC Chief
Overseas properties & foreign currency should all be disclosed A Plaza Miranda Exclusive By Raïssa Robles Justices of the Supreme Court as well as police and military generals should disclose their assets to the public, said the head of the independent agency overseeing such disclosures. Civil Service Commission Chairman Francisco Duque told me in an exclusive interview: The Supreme Court [...]
My South China Morning Post piece on dispute is being shared on Facebook
Singer-songwriter Jim Paredes posted on my Facebook wall my recent story on the South China Sea standoff. I don’t know how he got it. For those who are not on Facebook, I would like to share what he posted: Sorry, I don’t have a copy of the actual published story. But the title says it all. You see the word [...]
Is China after the Philippines' oil & gas fields?
Exclusive By Raïssa Robles Filipinos groaning from high power bills might have good reason to be concerned about China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Philippine government officials have expressed apprehension that China may be after the oil and gas-rich areas there, including the Sampaguita gas field recently discovered by an oil exploration firm under contract with [...]
Will President Aquino now fulfill his father's promise on Hacienda Luisita?
My exclusive By Raïssa Robles Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay presented an interesting proposition to one of his godsons. Magsaysay had heard that the Spanish owners of Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinasa or Tabacalera wanted to sell off their remaining asset in Tarlac – the sugar estate Hacienda Luisita which consisted of a sugar mill called the Central Azucarera de [...]
Why get so riled up over some rocks under the sea?
The Scarborough standoff is between an elephant and an ant – Domingo Siazon, former foreign secretary My exclusive By Raïssa Robles Why is the Philippines quarreling with China over a reef that sinks mostly under the sea at high tide? And why should Filipinos care who controls Scarborough Shoal? Scarborough Shoal is a triangle-shaped reef with a circumference of [...]
Corona told Palace reporter Mia Gonzalez his dad was a BIR official
SC spokesman, however, said Corona’s parents had money Exclusive by Raïssa Robles Chief Justice Renato Corona could afford to own luxury properties like the Bellagio penthouse because he was a man “not of ordinary means”, Supreme Court spokesman Midas Marquez said. In one interview Marquez gave to ABS-CBN’ Umagang Kay Ganda last December, Marquez said: Dapat nating isipin, hindi sa [...]
A curious set of transactions surround McKinley Hill purchase for Charina
Analysis By Raïssa Robles McKinley Hill in The Fort looks like a slice of California. It is therefore understandable that someone like Charina Corona, who has lived for nearly a decade in the United States, would want a unit here. In fact she holds the title to one of the units. How Charina came to hold the title is quite interesting. [...]
Corona's daughter bought California and The Fort properties 22 days of each other
A Plaza Miranda Exclusive By Raïssa Robles Soon after Chief Justice Renato Corona categorically denied that he and his family owned any property in the United States, a California lawyer sent me documentary evidence showing the purchase of a house in Roseville, California by the chief magistrate’s youngest daughter, Charina. This purchase was made 22 days before she allegedly bought [...]
Does Renato C. Corona have a clone living in the US?
A Plaza Miranda exclusive By Raïssa Robles I’m asking this question because a certain Renato C. Corona is linked to addresses in Tampa, Florida and Mountain View, California by US public records. Take for instance this address in Tampa - This is the property - And here’s the close-up - Another address mentioned is Mountain View in California, home of [...]
Part II: Senator-Judge Recto says why CJ Corona has to testify at his own trial
Our Plaza Miranda Exclusive - By Raïssa Robles Senator-Judge Ralph Recto told lawyer Serafin Cuevas last week that his client, Chief Justice Renato Corona, must testify at his own impeachment trial. Recto made this statement after asking retired Justice Cuevas the following questions regarding Cristina Corona’s sale of a 1,700-square meter Marikina property in July 1990 to her husband’s cousin [...]
Part I: Corona listed Marikina lot in his SALN two years after sale to cousin
Our Plaza Miranda Exclusive - By Raïssa Robles Chief Justice Renato Corona listed the Marikina property as an “Asset” in his 1992 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) two years after his wife Cristina sold it to his cousin. This point – raised by Senator Judge Ralph Recto – was probably the most interesting revelation in the four [...]
Lawyer willing to lend Mr Vicente cash to transfer Corona property to his name
My Exclusive By Raïssa Robles Cash from a defense lawyer of Chief Justice Renato Corona could enable Demetrio Vicente to transfer to his name a valuable property that remains in the name of the chief magistrate’s wife 22 years after buying it from her. Private lawyer Ramon Esguerra told me in an exclusive interview: Personally, I’m willing to advance money [...]
CJ Corona made the Palace a counter offer to get "off the hook"
My exclusive By Raïssa Robles Early this year before the impeachment trial began, intermediaries of Chief Justice Renato Corona reportedly told the presidential palace that Corona would be willing to step down provided two conditions were met. First, he would stay on as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. And second, he would get to name his successor. One [...]
Senator-Judge Joker Arroyo takes the cudgels for House of Representatives
By Raïssa Robles As Defense lawyer Serafin Cuevas mightily tried to have the Senate toss out the impeachment case yesterday against Chief Justice Renato Corona, Senator-judge Joker Arroyo told him in no uncertain terms that the Senate could not do it. Calling him “Justice Cuevas, my friend,” Arroyo gently said it wasn’t possible. Before I go any further, I would [...]
Corona Impeachment Trial - My Stories
Hi, all For your ready reference, I’ve added a tab on my home page called: Corona Impeachment Trial – My Stories. It lists all the stories I’ve written on the issue plus the links to them. I’d also like to thank this opportunity to thank you all. Raissa
Quick reference:
Corona's Liabilities and Assets
Liabilities and Assets of Chief Justice Renato Corona will be the main legal battleground when his lawyers present evidence in his defense starting tomorrow, Monday. To serve as your Quick Reference Guide during the course of the trial, I am posting here page one of every Statement of Assets and Liabilities he has submitted to the government since 2003. Strictly, speaking, [...]
Judge Miriam skips ICC oath-taking as Asia's first woman judge for Corona trial
Analysis By Raïssa Robles Judge Miriam Defensor-Santiago skipped her scheduled oath-taking Friday at the International Criminal Court (ICC) as Asia’s first woman judge. The ceremony in The Hague, Netherlands would have been a fitting symbol for the world celebration of International Women’s Month this March. It would have been a triumph for herself, for her country, for Asia and for [...]
Jokes and Corona's impeachment trial
By Raïssa Robles When political tensions rise, the ever resilient Filipino instinctively cracks jokes. The impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona is one more instance in our nation’s history where jokes – expressed as political satire – have become a measurement of public dissatisfaction or outrage. Jokes on Corona have turned viral on the Web One example [...]