March 20, 2012
By Ira Pedrasa
ABS-CBN News
ABS-CBN News
MANILA, Philippines – Senator President Juan Ponce Enrile said an asset, whether concrete or not, should be disclosed in a public official’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
During day 32 of the trial, the defense presented anew Benz Lim, the property manager of The Columns in Ayala to show that there was delay in the delivery of a condominium unit to the Coronas.
The deed of sale for the more than P3-million one-bedroom unit was drafted in 2004, but the asset was only disclosed in Chief Justice Renato Corona’s SALN in 2010.
The defense said it was only “accepted” in 2009 because the wife of Corona had reservations regarding the unit’s condition.
Enrile said: “There was still an asset, even if it passes from cash to concrete which we now know as the condominium unit. It came to existence then as an asset, and which should have been reflected in the SALN.”
Both the prosecution and the defense are still trying to sway the senator-judges on when a property is accepted by a buyer and when it should be reflected in an official’s SALN.
‘Symbolic transfer’
Senator-judge Miriam Defensor Santiago cited a Supreme Court decision which it described a symbolic transfer of property when there is already an acceptance by the buyer.
She said, however, that this can be negated by the failure of the vendee to take it in actual possession.
Defense lawyer Judd Roy also said acceptance is “just a declaration of the seller, and not perforce a voluntary recognition of the buyer.”
For the prosecution, however, the act of acceptance is of not important because the property was already acquired as provided under the contract to sell.
Senator-judge Serge Osmeña also stressed the condominium, whether accepted or not, is already irrelevant. He said the value must appear in the SALN.
“Otherwise we have a case here [like magician] David Copperfield, now you see it, now you don’t,” he said.
‘Deemed accepted’
The defense also presented the customers relation head of Alveo Land, Carmina Cruz, who said that the property was “deemed accepted” by Corona’s wife on June 7, 2008.
Cruz said she sent a letter to Cristina days prior to that informing her of the need to accept the property.
Cristina replied back, asking about the originals of their tax declarations and real property taxes in connection with the unit “so I can settle my payables and accept my unit.”
Cruz added it was usual practice that the developer comes in to pay in advance the taxes for the unit. On September 3 that same year, she said the Coronas were again informed that the unit was already available and that a key can thus be claimed.
Enrile then asked Cruz when Cristina finally accepted the unit. She said: “From my recollection, the last letter was on September 3 [where it was stated] that it was deemed accepted on June 7.”
She said the “deemed accepted” is an act done by the developer if the buyer fails to do it on his own.
Enrile asked her: “So when was the actual acceptance?” She said: “There was no actual, there was just deemed acceptance.”
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