THE Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) alleged that Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Marvic Leonen did not file his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) 15 times while working as professor at the College of Law at the University of the Philippines (UP).

This means that Leonen “violated” the SALN Law, alleged Atty. Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon.

Documents obtained from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) that Gadon got from the OMB showed the supposed violations of Leonen on the SALN Law.

SALN Law directs all government officials and employees to submit a document where it enumerates all the properties they own and liabilities they owe.

These include officials, professors, instructors and employees of the University of the Philippines, a government owned and funded university.

Even the high bench’s magistrates are duty – bound to abide and enforce the SALN Law.

If OMB records disclosed that Leonen failed to file his SALN 15 times, this means that the second most senior justice of SC may be worse than Ma. Lourdes Sereno who did not submit her SALN six times while working as law professor at the College of Law at UP Diliman, said Gadon.

Sereno was booted out as chief magistrate of the SC for violating the SALN Law and some provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Majority of Sereno’s fellow justices had joined their forces to end her career at the top bench.

Based on the documents that the PCOO obtained from OMB, Leonen only filed his SALN in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

OMB records further revealed that Leonen filed his SALN in 2010 and 2011, two years before he was appointed to the SC by then President Benigno Cojuangco Aquino III in November, 2012.

When Leonen was already a magistrate, the media had a hard time getting information from the SC about the status of his SALN.

This supposed violation of Leonen on the SALN Law is one of the charges that Edwin Cordevilla, secretary – general of Filipino League of Advocates of Good Governance – Maharlika (FLAGG – Maharlika), has included in his impeachment case against Leonen.

The other cases were Leonen’s alleged snail-paced action on the cases that were raffled off to his office since 2013 and on the electoral protests that have been lodged before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) of which Leonen is the head.

The worse crime that was slapped by FLAGG– Maharlika filed at the House against Leonen was his supposed “culpable violation of the Constitution”.

Cordevilla stressed to the media that his case against Leonen was extremely strong in form and substance.

According to the House leadership, it is slated to discussthe impeachment charges against Leonen once the session of Congress resumed on May 17 before sending it to the Senate.

The Senate will serve as court that will try Leonen.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Hector Lawas