Biraogo vs. Legarda

By DUCKY PAREDES
MALAYA

‘She declared that lying in one’s SALN is just cause for removal from office.’

Sen. Loren Legarda

IN yesterday’s column, I featured a revelation of Atty. Louis Biraogo that our numero uno senator is no better than Renato Corona whom she judged as unfit to continue as Chief Justice. As it turns out, Senator Loren Legarda is just as guilty of the same thing. Here is Atty. Biraogo’s letter:

“I write to you in my capacity as a public interest advocate who has gone all the way to the Supreme Court (SC) on many occasions to question anomalous acts and omissions of the government and certain public officials. My advocacy began in 1984 when I went to the SC to question the 350% tuition fee increases in the University of the Philippines. A year later, I filed a petition in the SC to challenge the constitutionality of the “snap” presidential and vice presidential elections called by then President Ferdinand Marcos.

“My victories in court include the revocation of customs duties on the importation of reading materials in the country (Biraogo v. Teves), and the dismantling of the Truth Commission created by President Benigno Aquino III (Biraogo v. Phil. Truth Commission). I have questioned the election of aliens to Congress (Biraogo v. Nograles), the power of SC justices to take back their signed decisions (In re Undated Letter of Biraogo), the power of the House of Representatives to sit as a constituent assembly without the participation of the Senate (Biraogo v. Commission on Elections), the refusal of Congress to enact legislation outlawing political dynasties, and the inaction of the national government on the Philippines claim to Sabah (Biraogo v. Del Rosario). Also, I am the lead petitioner in the current legal battle in the SC over the highly unpopular Anti-Cyber Crime Act.

“I stated the foregoing litany of my advocacies against government excesses to impress upon you the gravity of this matter.

“During one of the campaign sorties of President Aquino several days ago, I heard President Aquino endorse his senatorial candidates as his partners in leading the nation to his daang matuwid or “path of righteousness.” I am unsettled by the knowledge that one of his endorsees is Senator Loren Legarda, who is running for re-election.

“It will be recalled that during the 2012 impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, Senator Legarda voted to convict the highest official of the land. In her speech justifying her vote against Corona, Legarda said that public trust is earned, and that Corona should have been truthful in all of the entries he made in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs). Legarda stressed that Corona should be convicted in the same way that a minor court employee was removed from office by the SC for her failure to declare in her SALN that she had a leasehold right over a stall in the public market. If Corona is acquitted, Legarda said, “we will tragically lift the floodgates of public distrust” and “we (will) lower the bar of public accountability.” She declared that lying in one’s SALN is just cause for removal from office.

“During the Corona impeachment trial, Senator Legarda scolded the Land Registration Authority (LRA) for the inaccurate listing of the 45 real properties owned by Corona. By voting to convict Corona, Legarda left no room for doubt that her inaccuracies, concealment and other inconsistencies have no place in public documents, especially on SALNs.

“In the course of my research, I discovered from the on-line services of the New York City Registry of Property Deeds that on May 9, 2006, Senator Legarda purchased the following real estate at the princely sum of US$700,000.00 –

“Owner: LOREN B. LEGARDA

“Address: 10B 77 PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK, NEW YORK

“Property Type: SINGLE RESIDENTIAL CONDO UNIT

“Based on the peso-dollar exchange rate back in May 2006, Legarda purchased the said condominium for P36,000,000.00. This is not surprising because I understand that real estate along Park Avenue in New York City is among the most expensive in the world. Accompanying this letter are some e-mail photographs of the said condominium unit. I have also attached a step-by-step presentation on how to access official documents from the New York City Registry of Property Deeds so that your periodical may directly confirm Senator Legarda’s ownership of the Park Avenue property.

“Two questions now arise – Where did Senator Legarda get the money to buy her Park Avenue condominium unit? Did Legarda declare this asset in her SALN?

“In a recent speech before the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Senator Legarda said, ‘You can get my SAL, it’s public record. It’s with the Senate President’s office.’ I did as she suggested and looked at her SALNs from 2007 to 2011. It appears that her Park Avenue condominium unit was declared for the first time only in her SALN for 2011. It was not declared in her SALNs for 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In addition, there is nothing in her SALN for 2011 which explains where she got the P36M to acquire her Park Avenue condominium unit.

“As a citizen concerned with the future of our country, it is my earnest hope that the information I have retrieved will help determine if Senator Legarda is also guilty of the same wrongdoing for which she voted to convict Chief Justice Corona. If she is, then the righteous public official has now become a veritable Lady Corona. “ – Louis “Barok” C. Biraogo

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How many of our senators who judged Renato Corona as unfit to continue as a public servant are as guilty as Corona was of exactly the same thing – enriching themselves in office and hiding their sin by not reporting the truth in their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN)?

We need reforms in our Senate, starting with taking away their pork allocations. Their job is to write laws. Why give them funds that they can put in their pockets without fear of discovery because, as Senators, they have made themselves exempt from audit by the Commission on Audit (COA).

We have a Senate made up of of millionaires who enrich themselves with pubic funds. How can we expect them to give us good work when we have made them dependent on what they steal from us?

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