Miriam to prosecution:
Lie about one, lie about all

SENATOR-JUDGE Miriam Defensor Santiago cautioned prosecution lawyers to tread very carefully in their presentation of evidence, saying that the presentation of one false or spurious document could wipe out the entire presentation of the prosecution.

At the opening of the 21st day of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, Santiago cited the legal principle falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus. The Latin phrase, Santiago said, means “lying in one part, lying in all.”

“As a Senator-Judge, I want to counsel the prosecution, be extremely careful, you might be treading on very thin ice,” Santiago said.

“If it is proven that the specimen signature cards are falsified, then perhaps the court might lean towards considering the maxim falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus,” she added.

“Once the court is convinced that one panel has been foisting a fake document on the court, the court is justified in indulging in the presumption that if one panel has been lying in one particular, it has been lying in all particulars.”

Santiago zeroed in on the photocopy of what appeared to be a specimen signature card filled out by Corona with Philippine Savings Bank. The prosecution had attached the photocopy in its request for a subpoena of PSBank documents relating to accounts allegedly belonging to Corona.

The authenticity of the photocopy has come into question after PSBank president Pascual Garcia III told the court that the photocopy had at least 42 inconsistencies when compared to the original document in the safekeeping of the bank.

The prosecution had also pressed to explain how it came across a copy of a document that is supposed to be confidential and protected by the foreign currency deposits act.