SALN stalls confirmation of envoy

MANILA, Philippines - A day after the historic guilty verdict handed down by the Senate impeachment court on chief justice Renato Corona, its impact was immediately felt and the impeachment trial was cited as jurisprudence during a confirmation hearing of the Commission on Appointments (CA).

President Aquino’s nominee for ambassador to Syria, Nestor Padalhin, was censured yesterday by members of the CA for his failure to declare in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) a three-bedroom residential unit in Seattle, Washington worth $258,000 (about P7 million).

The information was contained in the profile investigation report of the CA on Padalhin, which was reported by Sen. Francis Escudero, who took the place of CA committee on foreign affairs chair Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago during the confirmation hearing.

Padalhin said he purchased the property in 1992 when he was still a consul in Seattle and that he was paying it in monthly installments of $1,500 (P64,500 at the current rate) for 30 years.

“I am paying mortgage for that property. The recently concluded historic impeachment trial of the Chief Justice provided many lessons, including for myself. Before this historic proceeding, I had a mistaken notion that property not fully paid abroad need not be declared in the statement of assets and liabilities,” Padalhin said.

The explanation given by Padalhin was almost the same as the reasons given by the camp of Corona in explaining his non-declaration of a number of condominium units in his SALN.

Corona’s lawyers argued that there was no obligation to include in the SALN properties that are still being paid on installment, which have not yet been turned over by the developer or accepted by the buyer.

It was the very issue of omissions in the SALN of Corona which became the basis for his conviction by the Senate impeachment court.

Padalhin said that he had a mistaken notion that real properties purchased abroad and whose titles have not yet been fully conveyed do not have to be included in the SALN.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, whose SALN is among the most comprehensive and detailed, did not let pass the issue and saw fit to give a stern lecture to Padalhin.

“That’s the problem of everybody. When you buy property on installment then you must reflect it in your SALN and then put a liability corresponding to the unpaid balance of your total price. Because once you buy a property you make a down payment. So it’s already your property. That’s why you people get caught into the net of problems,” Enrile said.

“I suggest you correct your SALN so that you’ll not be asked questions like this one,” he added.

Padalhin was given until next Wednesday to submit his corrected SALN and while this procedure is allowed under the law, Corona was allegedly not given the benefit to do this.

It was argued by many of the senator-judges that unintentional omissions in the SALN do not constitute an impeachable offense.

However, they noted that the extent of the omissions – in the case of Corona an estimated P180 million – would determine whether or not a government official should be removed from office.

Senators Loren Legarda and Panfilo Lacson said Padalhin’s mistake should not be used against him by the CA because it was an honest mistake.

“I believe it was an honest mistake. The lessons of the past 42 days tell us that a lot should be corrected. This should not be an impediment to the confirmation of ambassador Padalhin,” Legarda said.

In any case, the Department of Foreign Affairs has stated its position that there is no need to send an ambassador to Syria at this time when there is ongoing domestic turmoil in the country.

Escudero said that Padalhin’s confirmation is deferred until the next hearing of the CA.

“In good conscience, I cannot allow this to pass just like that after what we did yesterday of voting to remove one of the highest officials of the government. The reasons you gave us now were the same reasons given to us (by Corona) but we still came out with that verdict,” Escudero said.

“We make no aspersions or allusions that you committed violations of the law. That is not our job. We simply want to clarify and clear our records and make everything accurate. I hope you understand sir,” he added.

Policemen ready to sign waivers

Officials and members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) are ready to open their personal assets to the public after Corona signed a waiver to open his bank accounts.

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said the 140,000 members of the PNP are mandated by law to file their SALNs like any other government official or employee.

Cerbo said all policemen have filed their SALN together with the Income Tax Return (ITR) with the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management (DPRM) last April.

He, however, clarified that signing a waiver is a personal decision to be made by each policeman.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo has set an example by disclosing his SALN.

In his SALN, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR, Robredo has a net worth of P9.067 million and it showed no major acquisition and investment since 2004, except for two vehicles – a Starex van and a Toyota Innova.

Based on the two-page SALN of Robredo filed last April 27, he has total assets of P12,652,000, including cash, loans/accounts receivables, furniture, vehicles and investments.

His liabilities like loans and mortgages are placed at some P5,370,000.

Robredo’s income is placed at P985,122 per annum as DILG secretary. He is married to Maria Leonor Robredo, a practicing lawyer, with whom he has two unmarried children ages 18 and 12.

The documents showed Robredo acquired most of his assets of four pieces of land in Naga in 1995 through donation and purchases. The properties’ worth range from P250,000 to P60,000. He had his residential house constructed in 1996 worth P1.2 million.

Robredo has investments in real estate in Naga Metropolitan Ventures Corp., stocks in Manila Electric Co. and trucking business since 1999.

The DILG chief acquired the family Starex van worth P999,000 in 2004 while the Toyota Innova worth P1.123 million was purchased in 2010, of which P370,000 is included in his liabilities as loans.

Robredo has two relatives in government service, his sister Josephine Bundoc and her husband Rafael Bundoc, both physicians at the UP-PGH Manila.

-With Cecille Suerte Felipe