‘House should be under real property in SALN’

MANILA, Philippines - The rules require that houses and lots should be declared as real estate in public officials’ asset declarations, even if the property is not yet fully paid, the head of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) said yesterday.

CSC Chairman Francisco Duque, however, is giving Sen. Jinggoy Estrada the benefit of the doubt, saying the lawmaker’s failure to declare his new home as real property in his official asset declaration could have been a simple oversight.

Duque said it would be up to the Office of the Ombudsman to determine if Estrada could be held liable for failing to include a new house valued at P120 million under his real estate declaration in his 2012 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

Estrada said the house in Wack-Wack subdivision, Mandaluyong, which would be his new home after he sold his house in Greenhills, San Juan in 2011 for P100 million, was included in his declared “investments” worth P120 million last year.

Yesterday, the Sandiganbayan convicted a former deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) for his failure to declare in his SALN the business interests of his wife and daughter.

In a 24-page decision penned by Associate Justice Rafael Lagos and concurred in by Associate Justices Efren De La Cruz and Rodolfo Ponferrada, the Sandiganbayan First Division found lawyer Gil Valera guilty of violating Section 8 of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

The Office of the Ombudsman announced that Valera was fined ₱10,000 and permanently barred from holding public office.

Valera failed to declare his daughter Maria Beatriz’s shares in MJ Valera Realty in his 2003 SALN, and his wife Esperanza’s business interest in Buy Pinoy Marketing Inc. in his 2001 asset statement.

The decision stated that Valera “knew about Esperanza’s investment in Buy Pinoy Marketing Inc. because he signed as a witness in the Articles of Incorporation of said company.”

 With respect to Valera’s failure to disclose his daughter’s interest in MJ Realty, the court noted that “his daughter was a minor, living with him at that time, and had capital shares held in trust by him in MJ Realty.”

Last year, the Senate, convened as an impeachment court, convicted Renato Corona and ousted him as chief justice for betrayal of public trust for inaccuracies in his SALN.

Duque said a deed of sale is enough to prove real estate ownership even if it is not yet fully paid or is yet to be transferred to the name of the new owner.

“Our guidelines are clear,” Duque told The STAR. “Even if you have not yet made full payment, you declare the purchase price, then the unpaid amount under your liabilities.”

Duque emphasized that any problem or issue concerning the proper filing of a SALN by a senator should be handled by the Senate’s Review and Compliance Committee.

In Estrada’s case, Duque noted, “I think it’s just an oversight. It’s probably not a violation as in deliberate violation… what’s important is he declared it. There was no non-disclosure. I don’t think that’s a fatal oversight.”

The STAR tried to reach the Office of the Ombudsman for comment on Estrada’s case, but was told to put the questions in writing, which will be answered through a letter after a few days.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has a designated spokesman, Assistant Ombudsman Asryman Rafanan, who gives statements only during press conferences or in chance interviews.

Ombudsman lawyers handling cases in the Sandiganbayan are not allowed to talk to media after attending hearings.