Solgen Calida dared to bare SALNs to prove integrity

May 18, 2018

A taxpayer has challenged Solicitor General Jose Calida to disclose his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SLANs) to prove his integrity.

In a letter sent to the Office of the Solicitor General, taxpayer Jocelyn Marie Acosta said Calida should also show to the public that he has more integrity than that of ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Sereno was removed from her post after Calida filed a quo warranto petition before the Supreme Court for her failure to file her SALNs.

“Being the architect of the quo warranto petition, you now have the burden of showing to the people that you have more integrity than the Chief Justice,” Acosta’s letter read.

“This request is being made pursuant to the Freedom of Information (FOI) People’s Manual which you signed as the Solicitor General of the Republic,” she said.

Acosta specifically demanded that Calida disclose his SALNs for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018, citing his majority ownership of a security agency.

Calida allegedly owns 60 percent in stock of the Vigilant Investigative and Security Agency, Inc. (VISAI), while members of his family own the rest.

Acosta said VISAI is the security agency of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the National Anti-Poverty Commission, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and the National Parks Development Corporation.

“Your ownership of VISAI shows a clear conflict of interest,” she said.

Acosta said the people will know if Calida accurately declared his family’s ownership of VISAI, among other assets, once he makes public his SALNs.

Voting 8-6, the high court granted the quo warranto petition of Calida who sought to void the 2012 appointment of Sereno as chief justice for her failure to submit her SALNs, which was one of the requirements set by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC). DMS