MANILA, Philippines — Why is Solicitor General Jose Calida the second highest-paid public official? And why is he asking Congress for over P40 million in travel allowances and intelligence funds amid the pandemic?
Sen. Francis Tolentino on Monday posed these questions as he moved to defer the approval by the Senate finance committee of the proposed P1.1-billion budget of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for 2021.
Tolentino, a lawyer, also quizzed the OSG for participating in preliminary hearings and fact-finding investigation of criminal cases, pointing out that these were not included in its mandate as the government’s primary law firm.
The junior senator noted that the Commission on Audit (COA) had taken the OSG to task several times for providing excessive allowances to its officials that contravened existing rules on the distribution of such benefits.
“A COA report [noted] that former Solicitor General [Francis] Jardeleza did not receive even half of what Calida earned. How did this happen?” Tolentino said during the online budget hearing.
“Did your budget increase? Are there allowances being distributed by the [OSG] pursuant to your mandate that only went to [Calida]?” he asked.
Calida, a staunch supporter of President Duterte, did not attend the hearing, informing the Senate committee chair, Sen. Sonny Angara, that his doctor had advised him to take a five-day rest.
‘Allowances’
The COA said the solicitor general, who had initiated the ouster of former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and the shutdown of broadcast giant ABS-CBN, earned P16.95 million in 2019, making him the highest paid state lawyer in the country’s history.
Calida was the only nonbanker among the top 10 government officials with the highest income, which was bannered by former United Coconut Planters Bank president Higinio Macadaeg Jr., who earned P20.47 million.
Assistant Solicitor General Henry Angeles, who represented his boss in defending the OSG’s budget, said his office had already sought a reconsideration of the COA’s previous orders to return the excess in allowances.
“From what I understand, [Calida] receives allowances from the client-agencies for the [OSG’s] legal services,” Angeles said in reply to Tolentino’s question.“It is provided under the law that created or strengthened the OSG … It is also found under the Administrative Code of 1987,” he explained.
But Tolentino said the COA had issued a circular that limited the allowances of government officials to less than 50 percent of their annual salary.
“COA has been asking you not to raise that to more than 50 percent and apparently the solicitor general has defied the COA memorandum … Remember that COA is a constitutional body,” the senator said.
To which Angeles replied: “That is correct. If COA rules [against our appeal], there will be reimbursement from all employees [who were] given allowances.”
Tolentino likewise noted that the OSG had asked for P21.5 million in travel expenses, 88 percent of which was allotted for foreign trips, and another P20 million for confidential funds.