Defense says no to subpoena of shopping receipts

Natashya Gutierrez

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Lawyers say these are "irrelevant and immaterial to the proceedings"

NO TO SHOPPING RECEIPTS. The defense has filed an urgent motion to quash subpoena of receipts from Rustan's and invoices from Design Concepts. February 9, 2012. Natashya Gutierrez.

MANILA, Philippines – Even before the start of Day 15 of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, the defense has again voiced its opposition to the subpoena of transaction documents involving commercial establishments.

This time, they are against the subpoena of official receipts from Rustan’s Corp and invoices from Design Exchange Inc bearing the name of the Chief Justice and his wife.

On Thursday, February 9, the defense filed a motion to quash subpoena saying, “nowhere in Art. III is there any statement of ultimate facts that refer to the use of judicial funds for personal expenditures.”

Article 3 deals with 3 alleged acts of Corona, including his “allowing the Supreme Court to act on mere letters” received by the court, thereby causing “the issuance of flip-flopping decisions in final and executory cases.” It also alleges “excessive entanglement” with former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through her appointment of his wife to office, and discussions with litigants regarding cases pending before the Supreme Court.

Irrelevant and immaterial

Because the evidence is not related to the issue at hand, the defense said the receipts and invoices would be “irrelevant and immaterial to the proceedings.”

The 7-page motion says that these documents and the testimonies of officers from Rustan’s and Design Exchange would be “improper and violative of CJ’s Corona’s constitutional right to be informed of the charges against him.”

The original receipt from Rustan’s is said to include a list of 19 items amounting to P61,740.73. The prosecution also wants the gift registry on the 60th wedding anniversary of couple James and Julie Dy and other documents pertaining to the purchase, to be brought by an authorized Rustan’s official.

Two invoices from Design Exchange are also being subpoenad by the prosecution. One dated June 10, 2010 supposedly amounts to P20,400, while another dated June 29, 2010 amounts to P25,000.

The defense has been accused of using motions as a delaying tactic by the prosecution, but Corona’s counsels say they are simply using all the legal remedies available to them to protect the rights of their client. – Rappler.com

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Natashya Gutierrez

Natashya is President of Rappler. Among the pioneers of Rappler, she is an award-winning multimedia journalist and was also former editor-in-chief of Vice News Asia-Pacific. Gutierrez was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders for 2023.