Sereno releases 'uncorrected' version of her SALN

After days of waiting, the media finally got an official copy of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for 2011 – but it was an "uncorrected version" of the one earlier released by a television network. Sereno last Tuesday said she had agreed to fully disclose her SALN to the public. Supreme Court's Public Information Office at the time said Sereno would be coming up with an official press statement about it, only to defer its release the following day – Wednesday. By Wednesday, the SC PIO informed the media that the release of the SALNs of the magistrates, including Sereno's, would have to be deferred anew to Thursday. At the time, Solar News TV had already reported that the high court en banc, through the Office of the Clerk of Court, had released to the television network copies of the SALNs of all 14 sitting magistrates. On Thursday night, Sereno separately released her SALN through the PIO, which disseminated it to the media. A comparison of Sereno's two SALNs (Solar's earlier copy and the one released later by the PIO) showed discrepancies. The "uncorrected" SALN included in its total a P1 million improvement cost on Sereno's Filinvest East house and lot, which she acquired in 2005 for P4.5 million. The improvements cost was not shown in the corrected (Solar's) version. In the "uncorrected version," Sereno also listed her "Receivables" amounting to P3,537,130.25. This amount was later trimmed down to 1,203,400 in the corrected version. In both corrected and uncorrected versions, the amount of the items listed under "Personal and Other Properties" do not add up to their respective totals. In the uncorrected version, these items included a Toyota Altis 2005 (P760,000), a Toyota Corolla 1997 model (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. The total for these was listed as P8,746,078.85. In the corrected version, the total grew to P10,990,278.85, with "Receivable" being replaced by "Investments" worth 1,203,400. In explaining the "discrepancies," Sereno on Friday morning issued a statement saying: "The SALN of the Chief Justice as of December 31, 2011 released last night [Thursday] by the Office of the Chief Justice is the uncorrected version," 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," she added. Meanwhile, in a separate statement on Thursday night, Sereno explained that the assets she listed in her SALN already included "savings left from the legal fees paid by the Government to her in connection with the cases involving the NAIA Terminal 3, net of the amounts paid for Value Added Tax, income tax, operating expenses and personal consumption." "The payment was made to her for services rendered from 23 October 2003 to 31 July 200, a period of more than 4 years and 9 months," she added. — LBG, GMA News