Who is the real owner of the McKinley property? Charina Corona or Renato and Cristina Corona? Was CJ Renato Corona required to declare it in his SALN?
Based on the pieces of evidence presented by both sides and published reports, here is the TIMELINE:
1. Cristina R. Corona made a reservation and an offer to purchase a McKinley lot;
2. A buyer information sheet was filled up under the name of Renato Corona and Cristina Corona;
3. On July 3, 2006, a down payment of P200, 000 was paid by CJ Corona and, correspondingly, a receipt was issued in favor of Corona;
4. On August 8, 2006, the next payment of P494, 016.40 was made by CJ Corona per receipt;
5. Starting September 2006 to December 2006, monthly payments of P57, 834.70 were paid by CJ Corona per receipts;
6. From January 2007 to December 2007, the same monthly payments as No. 5 were made by CJ Corona;
7. On February 15, 2007, a Declaration of Trust was made designating Renato and Cristina Corona as Trustees and Charina Corona as Trustor, Beneficiary, and Legal Owner of the title to Lot 1, Blk. 16, Phase 2 of McKinley Hill Subdivision;
8. On March 7, 2007, an SPA was made designating Renato Corona and Cristina Corona as Attorneys-in-fact signed by Charina Corona;
9. From January 2008 to July 2008, the monthly payments as No. 5 were made by CJ Corona;
10. On August 29, 2008 a full and final payment of P4.8 million was paid by CJ Corona per receipt;
11. On September 8, 2008, CJ Corona wrote a letter to Megaworld stating that Charina Corona actually made all the payments and that she should be named as the owner; (Meanwhile, on September 9, 2008, Charina bought a property in Roseville, California with a down payment of $24, 356 and making sure that her husband waived all rights to the same property.)
12. On September 15, 2008, another Special Power of Attorney (SPA) notarized in San Francisco, Ca. was executed in favor of Renato C. Corona and Cristina R. Corona to sign the deed of sale and documents pertaining to the purchase of Lot 1, Blk 16, Phase 2 of McKinley Hill Subdivision;
13. On October 3, 2008, a Deed Assignment transferring the ownership rights to Charina Corona from Renato and Cristina Corona was made;
14. A TCT was eventually issued in the name of Charina Corona. The Tax Declaration also identified Charina Corona as owner.
Let me try examining the effect of each of the above-mentioned events on Charina Corona.
No. 1 – If she asked her Mom to reserve the lot for her, it was a smart move since she was in the United States. NO DUMMY.
No. 2 - Since the information sheet did not list her as a buyer, on its face, it was not for her protection or interest. DUMMY.
If Renato and Cristina Corona were listed as buyers but with the promise that it would be transferred to her, it could be acceptable. NO DUMMY.
No. 3 – If she sent money from the U.S. or transferred money equivalent to P200, 000 from her dollar or peso accounts in the Philippines to the dollar or peso accounts of Renato or Cristina Corona for the down payment but the receipt was in her parents’ name, she was not protected. DUMMY.
If the down payment was ADVANCED for her, then it was for her benefit. NO DUMMY.
No. 4 - If she sent money from the U.S. or transferred money equivalent to P494, 016.40 from her dollar or peso accounts in the Philippines to the dollar or peso accounts of Renato or Cristina Corona to pay for the next payment but the receipt was in her parents’ name, she was not protected. DUMMY.
If ADVANCED for her, then it would be for her benefit. NO DUMMY.
No. 5 - If she sent money monthly from the U.S. or transferred money equivalent to P57, 834.70 from her dollar or peso accounts in the Philippines to the dollar or peso accounts of Renato or Cristina Corona to pay for the monthly installments but the receipts were in her parents’ name, she was not protected. DUMMY.
If ADVANCED for her, then it would be for her benefit. NO DUMMY.
No. 6 – The same as No. 5
Nos. 7 & 8 – NO DUMMY.
No. 9 – The same as No. 5
No. 10 -If she sent money from the U.S. or transferred money equivalent to P4.8 million from her dollar or peso accounts in the Philippines to the dollar or peso accounts of Renato or Cristina Corona to pay for the full and final payment but the receipt was in her parents’ name, she was not protected. DUMMY.
If ADVANCED for her, then it would be for her benefit. NO DUMMY.
No. 11 - For the Philippine and U.S. properties then, benefit was for her. NO DUMMY.
No. 12 – NO DUMMY.
No. 13 – NO DUMMY.
No. 14 – NO DUMMY.
There is a Constitutional provision that prohibits foreign nationals from owning real estate properties in the Philippines. To circumvent the law and to protect the interests of foreigners who are buying real estate properties in the Philippines, there is one method that is usually used.
The wife who is a Filipino citizen buys the real property on behalf of the foreigner. To protect the real buyer/foreigner who provided the cash for the purchase of the property, the Filipino citizen, in whose name the property is titled, is asked to execute a Deed of Trust with the foreigner as a Trustee, as well as a Special Power of Attorney appointing the foreigner as Attorney-in-fact to be signed by the Filipino citizen.
This is a common practice among lawyers who represent foreign buyers of real estate. But if it is done for foreigners, a fortiori (with more reason), it could be done for Filipinos.
The Prosecution must have suspected that CJ Corona and her daughter Charina must have followed this method. Renato and Cristina Corona were the real buyers and Charina as the front person or, for purposes of this article, the DUMMY.
CJ Corona and wife reserved to purchase the property. They were registered as the buyers. They paid and correspondingly were given a receipt in their name for the down payment. They paid and were correspondingly given receipts in their name for the next payment, all the monthly installments, and the full and final payment. They had to ask Megaworld to assign the ownership rights to Charina because Megaworld recognized them as the real owners.
To protect themselves, they asked Charina Corona to execute a Special Power Attorney both in the Philippines and the United States, and a Deed of Trust as I have described.
If this was the case and, I also suspect it was, Charina Corona was a DUMMY, not because she was dumb but because she was fronting for her parents. In fact, as an unintended consequence, she could end up really owning the property smartly.
Ask Senator Judge Bongbong Marcos and the DUMMIES of his father.
Should CJ Corona have declared the McKinley property in his SALN?
My answer is a resounding YES.
1. If Charina is proven to be a DUMMY, then CJ Corona being the real owner should have declared it in his SALN.
2. If CJ Corona advanced all the payments for the benefit of Charina, then they should have been reflected in his SALNs in 2006, 2007 and 2008 by decreasing his CASH Account and increasing his Accounts Receivables.
3. FOR SURE, based on Timeline Nos. 1-5 when Charina Corona had not yet come into the picture, CJ Corona and wife, no doubt, had ownership rights to the property. They put a down payment of P200, 000. This should have established a Prepaid Asset Account of P200, 000, and correspondingly decreased his Cash Account for the same amount. His next payment of P494, 016.40 and his monthly installments of P57, 834.70 should also have increased the Prepaid Asset Account by said amounts and decreased his Cash Account for the same amounts accordingly. This means that these entries should have been reflected in his SALN of 2006.
Failure to include the McKinley property under any of the above scenarios in the SALN of CJ Corona would still be tantamount to culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.
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