THE Sandiganbayan on Wednesday rejected the petition of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona to stop his trial on eight counts of perjury.
In a 28-page resolution, the Third Division ruled Corona was not able to present strong pieces of evidence to convince the court to
reverse its Aug. 13, 2015 resolution directing the proceedings of his trial.
The anti-graft court said Corona presented the same arguments he had already offered in his motion for judicial determination of probable cause.
“The Court finds the accused’s motion for reconsideration devoid of merit. To be sure, the aforesaid issues have been previously raised by the accused in his motion for judicial determination of probable cause. They were thoroughly considered and passed upon by the Court in its assailed Resolution,” the decision read. Corona’s arraignment is set on Jan. 26 at 1:30 p.m.
Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice and Third Division chairman Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justices Alez Quiroz, Jose Hernandez, and Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta voted to put Corona on trial.
Associate Justice Samuel Martires issued dissenting opinion.
The anti-graft court’s decision last Wednesday maintained its findings of probable cause against Corona.
“The validity and merits of a party’s accusation or defense, as well as admissibility of testimonies and evidence, are better ventilated during the trial proper. To repeat, a finding of probable cause needs only rest on evidence showing that, more likely than not, a crime has been committed and that it was committed by the accused,” the resolution read.
In April last year, the Office of the Ombudsman filed charges against Corona before the Sandiganbayan for misdeclaration of assets in his Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth from 2001 to 2011.
Corona and his wife, Cristina, have also been charged with a P130.59-million civil forfeiture case before the Sandiganbayan also in connection with their alleged misdeclarations in their SALNs.