Cebu fiscals raise wealth profile; Judges SALN under wraps
Who says working in government doesn’t pay well?
At least 17 of 50 state prosecutors in Cebu are millionaires based on the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) released by the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas.
Asst. Provincial Prosecutor Ferdinand Collantes leads the list with a total net worth of P61.3 million as of Dec. 31, 2011.
A distant second was Asst. Provincial Prosecutor England Joseph Berciles whose worth reached P15.1 million.
Close in third place was Asst. Cebu City Prosecutor Rogelio del Prado with assets worth nearly P12 million.
Asst. City Prosecutor Eulogio Borres has the lowest net worth at P80,000.
The net worth or actual wealth is the official’s total assets, minus his total liabilities. However, it wasn’t explained how they acquired their wealth.
Tax-free
The SALNs of the prosecutors drew attention following their clamor for allowances from local government units (LGUs) where they are assigned.
In a recent visit to Cebu, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima discouraged prosecutors from receiving their allowances from LGUs, saying a conflict of interest would arise and thus compromise their work.
Regional state prosecutors came under fire from the Commission on Audit (COA) for not paying income taxes from the allowances they received from the Mandaue city government.
The COA required the Mandaue city government to seek the refund from the prosecutors they issued allowances to.
Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane protested this, saying these allowances are tax-free under the law.
While the SALNs of prosecutors are accessible to the public, data concerning the wealth of judges have not been as accessible.
Public attention on the net worth of judges was amplified during the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Transparent
Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles of the Court of Appeals in Cebu City yesterday said the SALNs of judges and justices across the country should be made public.
“The (SC) resolution on not making public the SALNs of judges and justice should be revoked. If we are not hiding anything, what are we afraid of? Our office is synonymous to public trust. You have to be transparent,” he said.
Judge Meinrado Paredes, former executive judge of the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City, said the SALN of judges and justices were kept away from public scrutiny during the time of former SC Chief Justice Andres Narvasa.
Paredes said the rationale was that disclosure of their SALNs may be used to harass magistrates.
The practice of not revealing the SALNs of judges and justices to the public continues today.
Provincial Prosecutor Pepita Jane Petralba, in a separate interview, said the compensation of prosecutors have been better with the implementation of the Republic Act 10071 or the Prosecution Service Act of 2010 in May 2010.
Section 16 of RA 10071 states that prosecutors “shall have the same qualification for appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, salary grade, and salaries, allowances as those of associate justice of the Court of Appeals (CA) and judges—depending on the rank.”
Security of tenure
Petralba said prosecutors received a basic salary ranging from P30,000 to P70,000 depending on his rank or length of service.
Cebu City prosecutors are also receiving P18,000 in monthly stipend from the city government while fiscals in the province get P10,000 from the Capitol.
All prosecutors also receive an inquest allowance of P1,200.
“It (prosecution service) is now rewarding financially. Becoming a prosecutor is a good career path for lawyers. There is security of tenure,” said Petralba, who is among the millionaires with a net worth of P1.4 million.
Based on the SALNs released by the Ombudsman Visayas last week, Prosecutor Collantes is the richest prosecutor in Cebu.
Collantes declared three real properties worth P60 million; furniture and appliances worth P600,000; jewelry and other personal items worth P200,000; and vehicles amounting to P500,000.
He has no liabilities. Collantes is the manager of Felisa’s Cafe and Restaurant in Tacloban City. He has no relative working in the government.
Prosecutor Berciles declared real properties worth P591,500 and P14.6 million in personal properties, which include two Honda Civic vehicles worth P1.4 million and jewelry and appliances worth P1.4 million.
Accessible
Berciles also has investments and cash on hand worth P3 million; and contributions to the Provident and Housing Funds (P8.8 million).
His liabilities amounted to P80,157.44, which came from loans and accounts payable.
Public officials are required to submit their SALN under Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
All SALNs filed with the Ombudsman shall be made accessible to the public for examination and inspection during reasonable working hours of working days and within the view of the custodian officer, she said.
Those who wanted to request for copies of the SALN shall fill in a form made by the anti-graft office.
The name, address and phone numbers of the requesting party should be properly indicated as well as the purpose of the request.
