CJ Corona broke law on SALN

Commentary

CJ Corona broke law on SALN

By Samuel V. Señoren

Chief Justice Renato Corona’s continued stay at the helm of the Supreme Court has become untenable based on his latest (2010) sworn statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) which clearly shows he broke the law governing the SALN.

Mr. Corona’s SALN for 2010 which he filed with the Clerk of Court of the Supreme Court on April 29, 2011 shows that he did not report as required by RA 6713 the amounts he paid to the sellers of the four condominium units listed in the SALN.

In effect, he submitted a false SALN for 2010.

Disclosure of the acquisition values of real estate properties listed in the SALN is mandatory as provided for in Section 8 of RA 6713, also known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

It is further specified under Rule VII, Section 1 (a) of the Implementing Rules of RA 6713.

The pertinent provision in Rule VII reads:

• Contents of Statement

• The Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth shall contain information on the following: (underscoring supplied)

• real property, its improvements, acquisition costs, assessed value, and current fair market value; (underscoring supplied)

..xxxxxxxxx..

The acquisition cost or purchase price for each of the four units is reflected in the deed of absolute sale for which the corresponding condominium certificate of title (CCT) was issued by the Land Registration Authority. But it was not declared in the SALN. The CCTs were provided by the LRA on subpoena by the Senate court.

In the SALN, the acquisition cost is used as the basis for determining the value of the listed properties for reporting purposes. Among the value headings in the SALN, the acquisition cost is the most important because it is constant and generally reliable compared to the assessed value and fair market value which can change over time.

In fact, for personal and other properties, the SALN form prescribes only the acquisition cost.

The acquisition cost is also among the first items that graft investigators look for in the SALN to find out if the purchase of a listed asset can be viably funded by the filer’s legitimate sources of income.

Mr. Corona’s omission of the acquisition cost distorts the valuation of the listed assets and thus puts in question the veracity of the SALN he had sworn to.

In declaring the total value of his real estate assets, Mr. Corona added the amounts corresponding to the properties under the heading “Current Fair Market Value” with a total of P18,438,980. Whether in fact, these were the realistic fair market values at time of filing is not yet at issue.

It should be noted however that in the SALN form, the space for total value of the enumerated real estate properties is under the heading of the Acquisition Cost, not under Current Fair Market Value.

Mr. Corona left blank the spaces provided for in the acquisition cost column. This is also another violation of the implementing rules (Rule VIII) which provide, among others, that public officials should fill in all applicable information and/or make a true and detailed statement in their SALNs.

Had Mr. Corona disclosed and tallied the acquisition values of the four condominium units as reflected in the deeds of sale and as required by RA 6713, he would have so declared that he had paid a total of P29.5 million for the properties at issue, excluding the house and lot which was conveyed by donation.

Thereafter, the acquisition costs would have jacked up the total value of his assets in the SALN for 2010 to P34 million, inclusive of P4.5 million in non-real estate assets, instead of P22,938,980 as declared.

Why Mr. Corona did not report or failed to report how much he paid for the condominium units is subject to speculation.

But with the highly incriminating SALN for 2010 which was provided by the Clerk of Court and verified to be authentic, prosecutors should just wind up presentation of evidence and witnesses on Article II, forego the other articles and submit the case for resolution.

Abbreviating Mr. Corona’s impeachment trial will save the Senate and members of the House precious time which would have been devoted to legislation in the first place.