Chief Justice Renato Corona and his wife, Maria Cristina, are accused of spending government funds for personal use after allegedly charging rest and recreation expenses to the government. The offenses were allegedly committed when Corona's wife was serving as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the John Hay Management Corp. (JHMC), a government controlled corporation in Baguio City, for three years. Upon his assumption to his current post as Chief Justice, Corona asked his wife to resign from the job to avoid conflict of interest. But controversy hounds her. Frank Daytec Jr., the operations group manager of JHMC, submitted a sworn statement to the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Mrs. Corona and also against Chief Justice, accusing them of dipping into public funds for personal use. “Chief Justice Corona is not employed by the John Hay Management Corporation, [so] JHMC should not pay, should not be handling his expenses,” Daytec told reporters. To prove his claim, Daytec presented receipts, vouchers, and a hotel billing. One receipt under the name of the couple showed charges amounting to P14,560. In this hotel billing, services such as spa, beauty parlor and in-house massage were reportedly charged to JHMC. “Nobody asked me to do this... I feel that it is my obligation [to do so],” Daytec said. But Supreme Court spokesperson Midas Marquez said Mrs. Corona has already denied the allegation. Marquez said the couple had used personal money and a credit card in paying for the services. He added Daytec has an axe to grind because he is set to be fired from his job. “Mrs. Corona has all her original receipts, so if it were true that it was John Hay had paid for these or that she will reimburse these, the original receipts should be surrendered,” Marquez said. Still, the DOJ will look into Daytec's claim. “We'll have to look at the case first, because if it's a case which falls under the jurisdiction of the department or any of its offices, then we can act on it,” Assistant State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon said. – ABS
