Sereno has 2 SALN versions

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—After two days of delay, the Supreme Court, late Thursday night released a copy of the 2011 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, which turned out to be the “uncorrected version” as stated by the Office of the Chief Justice in a statement issued Friday morning.

“The statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN) of the Chief Justice as of December 31, 2011 released last night by the Office of the Chief Justice is the uncorrected version,” the Office of the Chief Justice’s statement stated.

On Tuesday, Sereno had agreed to release in full her SALN without any conditions. The high court’s Public Information Office said that apart from the SALN, the Chief Justice will also issue a statement. Late Tuesday, the SC-PIO said the release of the SALN and the statement will be deferred to Wednesday. Come Wednesday, the SC PIO informed the media that the release of the SALN of the Chief Justice will be on Thursday.

At the time, a television network, Solar News TV reported that the high court approved their request for a copy of the SALN of the Justices. In their report, Sereno’s net worth is P18,029,575 based on the SALN copy provided by the Supreme Courts’s Office of the Clerk of Court. However, the SALN provided by the SC PIO to the media showed that Sereno’s net worth is only P17, 985, 375.51.

Comparing the two SALN’s showed discrepancies;

• The uncorrected version showed a P1-million improvement cost on Sereno’s Filinvest East House and lot which she acquired in 2005 for P4.5 million while the version from the Clerk of Court did not show the improvement cost;
• The uncorrected version showed receivables worth P3,537,130.25 while the amount was trimmed down to P1,203,400 in the other version.
• In the Personal and other Properties, {uncorrected SALN version), Toyota Altis 2005 worth P760,000, a Toyota Corolla 1997 model worth 320,000, second-hand a Mitsubishi Lancer worth 95,000, cash in bank worth 1,185,602.60, and receivables worth P3,537,130.25, less 5 percent allowance for bad debt has a total of P8,746,078.85. In the corrected version, the total grew to P10,990,278.85, with “Receivables” replaced by “Investments” worth P1,203,400.

In her statement, Sereno said “the correction of the SALNs of the Members of the Court has been authorized by the Court En Banc. The correct version is the one released by the Clerk of Court.”

Meanwhile, Sereno, in a separate statement said she has already indicated in her SALN the amount she earned from the legal fees paid by the government to her in connection with cases involving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

“The payment was made to her for services rendered from 23 October 2003 to 31 July 2008, a period of more than 4 years and 9 months,” she said.