House Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya. Photo from Rolando Andaya’s office
House Majority Floor Leader Rolando Andaya has dismissed a complaint against him as nothing but a demolition job perpetrated by political rivals who are against his gubernatorial bid for 2019.
“This is part of an ongoing hatchet job against me connected with my desire to run for the governorship of Camarines Sur,” Andaya said in a message to reporters on Tuesday.
“It is an expensive demolition job being waged at all fronts, especially in social media, but with a common thread running through all of them: lies,” he added.
Earlier, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission head Greco Belgica filed a complaint against Andaya before the Office of the Ombudsman for not fully disclosing his wealth on his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
According to Belgica, 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 checked the official documents at the LTO, he has 13 cars under his name. His declaration on his SALN is cars worth P2 million, so that is a clear case of misdeclaration.)
“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,” he noted.
(Guns, there is a declaration of guns but according to PNP records, just recently 2018, 19 pistols and high-powered firearms were registered under his name.)
READ: Andaya on hot seat for failing to declare assets in SALNs
Andaya said that surveys show that he can beat other candidates running for governor in Camarines Sur in the 2019 midterm elections, hence, the move by his opponents to taint his name.
“In a bid to keep their stranglehold on the province, my enemies are resorting to tactics most foul, because the most recent surveys show that I will beat their candidate, despite the private and public resources at their disposal,” he claimed.
“This harassment suit would not have prospered if I did not heed the clamor of my province-mates to lead them in changing the bad way the province has been governed for years,” he explained.
The lawmaker also called out Belgica for not taking his side on the matter and for falling “victim” to a “prank.”
“I do not expect the masterminds behind this complaint to get my side but I expect Mr. Belgica, as a government official, to have asked for my side, and I would have gladly provided him with the facts,” Andaya noted.
“Unfortunately, he miserably failed in this one elementary aspect, and opted to chase publicity. This stunt leads me to conclude that he has been a clueless victim of a prank, or a party of an ongoing hatchet job against me,” he added.
He also called on Belgica to do the same investigation on the SALNs of his political opponents.
“If Mr. Belgica wants to be impartial and fair, I would suggest that he conducts the same investigation into the SALN of my political opponents,” he asked.
Belgica said that 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. /jpv