Tolentino: SALN form was different

An agitated Francis Tolentino, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair, cried foul over insinuations his wealth had almost doubled in the past two years, saying the media had misinterpreted two different forms of the required statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) which were recently made public.

“My SALN for 2011 and 2012 were the same; there was no increase. There were no new assets or properties acquired, no new improvements, just a new SALN form, [which] adds [to the assets] my existing declared [property] improvements,” said Tolentino, by way of explaining how his net worth shot up from P22.5 million in 2011 to P43.7 million in 2012.

On Saturday, Malacañang said the burden of explaining the P21-million jump in the net worth of the MMDA chief lay with him.

In a statement, Tolentino explained that in the old SALN form, before the Civil Service Commission released a revised SALN form effective 2012, property improvements were not added to the assets or to the total net worth, and were only listed in another page as an attachment.

Tolentino said that his 2011 and 2012 SALNs listed the same assets and improvements, but the assets and their improvements were calculated and listed together in one column in the 2012 SALN. “Naturally, the [figures appear to have] increased,” he said.

In an attempt to preempt misinterpretations, he said he had added a footnote to his 2012 SALN, marked by an asterisk, explaining the change in his declaration.

“I was honest, I declared everything. I stated that the reason for the discrepancy (in the new form) was because the new form necessitated the addition of improvements in one column [along with the assets],” he said.

“Even before being asked, my explanation was already there on my SALN form. You can’t be more honest and transparent than that,” he added.

Not 3 SALNs

He also denied media reports that he had submitted three SALNs, with different net worths as of Dec. 31, 2012. “It is not true I submitted three SALNs for one year, unless somebody can show that to me. That’s not allowed,” he said. “Maybe they’re looking at my 2010, 2011, 2012 SALNs.”

The Malacañang list showed Tolentino had a net worth of P22,540,381.52 in 2011 and P43,773,691.02 in 2012, or a P21,233,309.5 change in net worth in one year.

The MMDA chief asked for an apology from whoever made it appear he had almost doubled his wealth in a span of a year. “If they don’t apologize, there is an insinuation there,” he said.

Members of the Malacañang Press Corps—who on Friday had first crack at the SALN of members of President Aquino’s Cabinet—were confused when they saw three SALNs under Tolentino’s name.

All three SALNs reflected different net worths (total assets less liabilities): P43 million, P9 million and P25.6 million. They were all dated Dec. 31, 2012.

The first SALN, which bears the date stamp of “4.26.13,” listed under “assets” two commercial lots in Tagaytay City and one residential property in Muntinlupa City, for a combined (acquisition) total of P23.4 million.

The other SALN listed additional three real properties in Tagaytay worth P11.9 million; and the third, P11.5 million, representing the (acquisition) value of three other lots and the Windy Ridge Hotel, which are all located in Tagaytay.

He also declared law books and vehicles (worth a total of P5 million), and personal properties (dollar mutual funds, computers, receivables/bank deposits) worth P17.1 million.

He has total assets of P83.3 million and total liabilities of P39.5 million, and thus a net worth of P43.7 million.

Just like what other Cabinet members did, Tolentino did not use the “assessed value” or “current fair market value”—which are higher than the acquisition cost—in computing his total assets.

Malacañang could not confirm whether the two other SALNs—which had different entries—were mere amendments.

Lower property values

On the other hand, Education Secretary Armin Luistro and Peace Process Adviser Teresita Deles showed declining wealth from 2011 to 2012.

Luistro’s net worth decreased by P188,355—from P739,006 to P550,651.

Deles’ declaration reduced her net worth by  P14.74 million—from P21.83 million in 2011 to P7.09 million in 2012.

Sought for comment, Deles explained the reason behind her apparently diminishing wealth was merely reduced values attached to the same property.

“The big change in my net worth in my 2012 SALN from the one in 2011 is due to the much lower values reflected on the same real properties declared in my SALNs since 2010,” said Deles in a text message.

“The values for up to 2011 were only based on my personal estimations of comparative worth with similar properties in the market in the same community,” she said.

For 2012, however, in accordance with the new Civil Service Commission guidelines on the filing of SALNs, “and as per legal advice, what we declared for the same real properties were based on assessed and market values on tax declaration certificates issued by the assessors’ offices’ in the cities and municipalities where these are located,” said Deles.

Luistro, being a La Salle brother, is bound by a vow of poverty.