Impeachment backers keep SALN secrets too
MANILA, Philippines – Most of the 188 House members who signed the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona have refused to disclose their statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) too, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism reported today.
This amid persistent calls of the prosecution panel that Corona must be impeached for refusing to disclose his SALN, noting it as one of the eight articles of impeachment.
In an article, PCIJ Executive Director Malou Mangahas said House accusers could well be accused of a similar omission, and culpable violation of the Constitution and anti-graft laws.
"Indeed, the PCIJ’s records from 2006 to December 2011 reveal a sorry picture of rank non-disclosure of SALNs not just by Corona and all the justices of the high court since 1992, but also by the incumbent House members who have brought him to trial," she said.
"Even 185 of the 188 members of the 15th Congress who filed the impeachment complaint against Corona but have not disclosed copies of their own SALNs," noted Mangahas.
The PCIJ added that only two of the 282 members of the 15th Congress actually disclosed copies of their 2010 SALN upon request: Mohammed Hussein P. Pangandaman (Lanao del Sur) and Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. (PL-Abante Mindanao). Neither is among the 188 signatories to the impeachment complaint that the House had submitted to the Senate impeachment court.
The PCIJ was able to obtain the 2010 SALNs of five more members of the Lower House, including three who had signed the impeachment complaint against Corona.
It also noted that even Rep. Neil Tupas Jr., a member of prosecution panel, acknowledged the gross omission of the House in withholding copies of the 2010 SALNs of the current legislators.
“Yes, what should be revealed are the full details of the assets, liabilities, and net worth, copies of the SALNs,” the PCIJ said quoting Tupas.
Even Aquino-appointed Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has failed to disclose her SALN in public, according to the PCIJ.
When asked about the reluctance of Carpio-Morales to reveal her SALNs, Tupas said: “The new Ombudsman should be the role model here in releasing SALNs. We impeached Merci Gutierrez for not disclosing her SALN.”
The PCIJ also noted that even the president’s deputy spokesperson, Abigail Valte, had cited “security” concerns arising from the disclosure of SALNs as one more reason why she said Aquino is reluctant to endorse the Freedom of Information bill.
“That for me personally is a concern because I’m the one here (in government) and not my family,” the PCIJ quoted Valte in a press conference on Sept. 23, 2011.
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