Andaya on hot seat for failing to declare assets in SALNs

A complaint was filed against House Majority Floor Leader Rolando Andaya on Tuesday for allegedly failing to declare certain assets in his previous Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).

The complaint filed by Commissioner Greco Belgica of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) before the Office of the Ombudsman stated that personal properties, guns, and cars allegedly owned by Andaya were not included in his 2016 and 2017 SALNs.

“Nag-check po kami sa LTO, official documents po ‘yan, ang sasakyan po niya ay 13 cars na naka-pangalan po sa kanya. Ang declaration niya po sa kanyang SALN, cars is worth P2 million, so misdeclaration talaga,” Belgica told reporters.

(We’ve checked records at the LTO. Those were official documents. There were about 13 cars all registered under his name. But his declaration in his SLAN is that he owns cars worth only P2 million. That is misdeclaration.)

He added that some of the cars are worth around P3 to P4 million, while the bullet-proof vehicles may be priced between P6 to P9 million.

According to Belgica, they discovered the undeclared items by checking records at government agencies like the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

Information on guns supposedly owned by Andaya was obtained from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Firearms and Explosives Office.

“Another sa personal properties niya, baril. Wala hong naka-declare ditong baril pero ito po official record galing sa PNP, recently lang, 2018, 19 pistols and high-powered firearms were registered under his name,” Belgica noted.

(There were no guns listed in his SALNs under his personal properties, but official records from the PNP in 2018 show that 19 pistols and high-powered firearms were registered under his name.)

The PACC commissioner said Andaya will face charges for violating the Code of Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and laws against falsification of public documents, aside from other complaints of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct. /ee