How CJ Corona Got His Posh Condo

I have not yet mentioned here about my three-month old blog entitled “Unleashed:” where I post “My Take On The News” about governance, business, culture, education, politics, etc. In my new blog, I already had a few posts about the impeachment of Chief Justice (CJ) Renato Corona as developments in the most anticipated event get published in our mainstream media, most recent of which were about his posh 303.5-square meter posh condominium unit at Bellagio 1 in The Fort, Taguig City.

CJ Corona’s posh condo is the subject of one of the eight articles of impeachment which will be tried in our Senate acting as impeachment court starting January 16, 2012. Much has been published about the controversial piece of property but none of them compared to an investigative post I chanced upon during my blog hops yesterday. The article entitled “Realty broker: Corona’s posh condo “a steal” at P14 million” was written by Raïssa Robles and gave a detailed documentation of the transactions involving the property.

The article I refer above is so far the most comprehensive I’ve read regarding the issue and below are some of the facts revealed in the investigative report about the controversial condominium unit:

  • Unit 38-B of Bellagio 1 Condominiums with 303.5-square meter (sq m) area plus Parking Slot Nos. 50, 51 and 52, each measuring 12.5 square meters, was grossly below prevailing market prices when it was sold to CJ Corona in December 16, 2009 at a total of PhP14,510,215.00 or PhP42,521.99 per sq m only. Premium grade condominium units in The Fort, Taguig City were selling from a low of P88,000 per sq m to a high of P115,000 per sq m at that time.
  • The Withholding Tax (WT) and Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) paid for the transaction amounted to PhP725,511.25 and PhP217,655.00 respectively using the PhP14,510.215.00 selling price in the Absolute Deed of Sale. Had PhP80,000 per sq m zonal value been used, the taxes would have amounted to PhP1,364,000.05 WT and PhP409,200.00 DST. Therefore, the total tax paid for the transaction in the amount of PhP943,166.25 was short of PhP830,033.80
  • An Absolute Deed of Sale executed in December 16, 2009 was used as basis for the issuance of Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT) No. 164-2010000062 to Spouses Cristina Corona and Renato Corona covering the property. CJ Corona, in a document submitted to Senate as reply to the impeachment charges, admitted owning the posh condo unit that he and his wife purchased on installment basis. The absolute deed of sale seems to belie his admission unless an earlier “Contract To Sell” covered the transaction. Contradiction ensues because it was also in the news that CJ Corona is still paying for his condo unit in installment.

The referred article was well-written and easy to understand but I still decide to make this short summary for my readers who may not have enough time for the lengthy post. This is also my way of helping spread the facts about CJ Corona’s post condo unit.

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