Umali defends authenticity of documents

Congressman Rey V. Umali of Oriental Mindoro provided excuses on where in Senate premises the allegedly fake documents passed on to him by who he claimed as “little lady”. Viewing the CCTV coverage, he claims that the documents may have been passed in places not covered by any Senate CCTV camera. He stated that at this time no conclusions should be made as to the authenticity of the documents passed to him but under oath was identified by the PSBank manager as a fake.

Umali, who is a Liberal Party member also said that they had no way of checking on the authenticity of the fake document. But made an excuse that he verified it against trial documents he had in his possession. He said that the authenticity of the document should not be put in question but rather focus on the results it provided which was to verify the existence of the bank accounts of Corona in the PS Bank. “The accounts exist as verified by the PS Bank President!”

It is apparent that the congressmen prosecutors are head-over-heels in searching or creating documents to pursue the impeachment case. This after the President had announced his displeasure in how the prosecution was pursuing the case.

The alleged document which led to a subpoena issued by the Senate irked Presiding Judge Juan Ponce Enrile and earned the ire of several Senator jurists. Enrile said, “It seems to me that you are pursuing the impeachment and gathering evidence through the subpoenas!” More so, because the subpoena almost led the country into a constitutional crisis where the Supreme Court issued a TRO against the opening of any Foreign Currency Bank accounts pursuant to the law.

The prosecution panel was asked to explain in a memorandum to explain the reasons behind the “fake documents.” Senator Defensor remained unconvinced however and berated Congressman Farinas and Tupas on the legalities and penalties for providing the impeachment court fake and spurious documents.

Corona’s accounts were verified by PS Bank President through the alleged document. But Bank Manager Tiongson, whom the prosecution belatedly adopted as their witness said the attached document is not a PS Bank document.

A legal analyst stated however that the onus would on who released the documents, if they are real or true copies, as this would hold them accountable to penalties under the Bank Secrecy Laws of the Philippines. The prosecution has refused to disclose the source of the documents, only stating that it came from a “little lady” and that it has been verified by the PS Bank President anyway.

The Senate has asked PS Bank to present documents in their possession in connection with the “fake documents.”

Tags: Congressman Farinas, Congressman Rey V. Umali, Corona Impeachment, fake documents, falsification of public documents, Inquirer, Juan Ponce Enrile, little lady, Oriental Mindoro, prosecution, PS Bank, Renator Corona, Senator Defensor, Tupas