October 18, 2012
HON. PRESBITERO J. VELASCO JR.
Associate Justice
Supreme Court of the Philippines
Padre Faura Street, Manila
Subject: PCIJ's request for clarification re SALN
Dear Justice Velasco:
Greetings from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism! We hope this letter
finds you well.
We write in connection with a story that the PCIJ is doing about the Statements of
Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of the justices of the Supreme Court.
We have reviewed and validated the data enrolled in your 2011 SALN, as well as
relevant corporate records at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
according to the spirit and letter of Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical
Standards for Public Officials and Employees) or the SALN Law.
As you are well aware of, The SALN Law aims to provide the public, not just the
government, a basis for "monitoring the income and lifestyle of public officials and
employees in compliance with the constitutional policy to eradicate corruption, to
promote transparency in government, and to ensure that all government employees and
officials lead just and modest lives, with the end in view of curtailing and minimizing the
opportunities for official corruption and maintaining a standard of honesty in the public
service" (see, for instance, Oca v Usman, A.M. No. SCC-08-12)
In the spirit and letter of The SALN Law, we respectfully request you to please comment
on the following matters:
1. You reported in your 2011 SALN that you have P2,683,393.00 and USD33,877.08 in
cash, or a total of P4, 118,604.00. Kindly clarify: Have you made a similar disclosure
in your earlier SALNs?
2. You reported that no improvements have been made on all three of your real
properties, which you said you acquired in 1976, 1980, and 2011. Please explain.
3/F Crise Ida II Bldg., 107 Scout de Cuia Street, Quezon City 1104 Philippines
(()(632) 4104768-69 9293117 fax: (632) 9293571
email: marketing@lpcij.org pcij@lpcij.org
web: www.pcij.org www.i-site.ph
r-.
3. You reported in your 2011 SALN that you received P1, 145,635.48 in annual salary;'''''';
last year. Pray tell us please: Did you receive allowances and other compensation
as associate justice of the Supreme Court in 2011? If yes, how much did you receive
in total? Did you pay the appropriate taxes on these allowances and other
compensation?
4. The 2011 General Information Sheet (GIS) of the Kapatirang Marinduqueno Inc. lists
your wife, Mrs. Lorna Q. Velasco, as chairman of the board.
The 2011 GIS of the Metro Manila Alliance of Transport Sector, Inc. lists Mrs.
Velasco as a director.
However, your 2011 SALN did not enroll the names of these companies as entities
in which you may have business interest in and financial connections with. Kindly
explain.
We would appreciate it if you could please respond to us as soon as practicable, or
before October 25, 2012.
If you have questions or clarifications, you may please ask your staff to contact me at
410-4763,410-4769, or email at mcmangahas@pcij.org or research@pcii.org.
Thank you very much and best regards.
Sincerely,
~~~
0----
Malou Mangahas
Executive Director, PCIJ
i~~~(~~
Research Director, PCIJ