Corona had 7 time deposits

MANILA, Philippines – Chief Justice Renato Corona had at least 7 time deposits from 2007 to 2010, with one account totaling P17-M and another P12-M, officials of the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) testified on Thursday, February 16.

He withdrew these amounts after short periods covering the years 2007 to 2010.

It is possible, however, that Corona eventually moved part of the money to his regular accounts in the same bank. Because as of Dec 31, 2010, Corona had P19.7-M in his regular bank accounts in PSBank, based on previous documents presented to the court.

As of Dec 31, 2010, however, Corona declared a total of P3.5-M in cash and investments in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).

Returning to the witness stand, PSBank-Katipunan bank manager Annabelle Tiongson initially testified on 5 time deposits that Corona opened — and eventually closed — in the bank from 2007 to 2010.

PSBank president Pascual Garcia III later said that Corona opened a 6th time deposit of P17-M in June 2011 and closed it on Dec 12, 2011, the day that Corona was impeached.

Tiongson also said that on the same day, Corona officially closed 2 of his time deposits in PSBank.

The following Corona accounts were presented by Tiongson and Garcia, upon questioning by senator-judge Serge Osmeña (we include here only the ending balance of each time deposit, based on Tiongson’s testimony, except for the 2011 time deposit revealed by Garcia):

• Dec 2007: P5-M (Corona opened this in May 2007 with P2-M; in his 2007 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, Corona declared P2.5-M in “cash and investments”)
• Jan 2009: P2.1-M (In his 2009 SALN, Corona declared P2.5-M in “cash and investments”)
• March 2010: P3.7-M
• Sept. 2010: P7.1-M
• Dec 2010: P12.5-M (he opened this time deposit in Dec 2009 with P8.5-M; in his 2010 SALN, Corona declared P3.5-M in “cash and investments”)
• July 2010: initial deposit of P7-M; closed in September 2010, as per Garcia
• June 2011: initial deposit of P17M, as per Garcia, but closed on Dec. 12, 2011