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Master plans for Metro Manila: What to ask and what to look for - Part 1
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE - 6:52 p.m.) The eldest daughter of Chief Justice Renato Corona who bought an P18-million property from her parents does not have a declared source of income, except for the years 2008 and 2009.
However, Senator Ralph Recto, in questioning BIR Commissioner Kim Henares, said the lack of a declared source of income does not automatically mean Corona's daughter did not have the means to purchase an P18-million property.
In her Income Tax Return (ITR) for 2009, Carla Corona Castillo declared a gross income of P8,476, and paid P423.80 in taxes, according to Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares in her testimony.
Despite the objection of defense lawyer Serafin Cuevas on the disclosure of the information because “it is the ITR of Carla, not the respondent,” Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile accepted the offer of evidence, saying the prosecution is “proving that the asset sold to the daughter is still the asset of the respondent.”
The La Vista property was sold in 2010 to Carla for P18 million. The 1,200-square meter property was bought by the Coronas in 2003 for P11 million.
The chief justice started declaring it in his 2003 SALN with an assessed value of P450,000 and fair market value of P3 million.
Lawyer Tranquil Salvador III, one of the defense lawyers, said the panel's continuing objection was based on the ground that the information being squeezed out from the BIR would be used to prove Corona’s alleged ill-gotten wealth, which the impeachment court had earlier stricken out from one of the charges, Article 2. The defense claimed that Article 2 dealt only with the failure to submit the Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net worth.
