Palace shows SC less transparent than executive branch

President Benigno Aquino III's spokesperson didn't say that the officials of the executive branch were more transparent in handling funds than the members of the Supreme Court but he sure showed the media that they were.

Presidential spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda said the SC's actions on recent issues indicated that the judiciary may have a different interpretation of transparency.  

 

"There will always be issues, for instance, on transparency. At the very least in the executive branch, we have always been transparent with what we do, with what we implement. The Supreme Court may have a different take on it," Lacierda told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

 

Lacierda cited as an example how the two branches disclosed the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) of officials.

 

"In the executive branch, we would submit our SALN to the Office of the President and submit it to the Ombudsman. We publish, or at least we inform the public," Lacierda said.

 

"So insofar as the Supreme Court, they have a different take. Like, for instance, denying the request of PCIJ [Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism] as well as the request of BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] Commissioner Kim Henares on the SALN," he added.

 

The President's spokesman was referring to the high court's decision to deny BIR commissioner Kim Henares' request for copies of justices' SALNs due to "lack of sufficient basis."

 

JDF

 

Lacierda also adverted to the SC's use of the Judicial Development Fund (JDF) when he further discussed transparency issues. 

 

He, however, stressed that the executive respected Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's decision to skip the congressional inquiry on the alleged misuse of the JDF.

 

"I’m not familiar what’s their take on this matter, on the JDF... We have a different way of looking at things and I would defer to the Supreme Court. I would defer to the House and Senate as to their relations with each other," the Palace official said.

 

On Monday, Sereno and other SC representatives snubbed the House justice committee hearing on the JDF, calling it "premature" and "appropriate."

 

Some House members, including allies of President Benigno Aquino III, criticized Sereno for ignoring the congressional probe, saying Congress was not being accorded due courtesy. 

 

Last month, President Aquino himself also publicly assailed the SC for its decision declaring certain acts under the administration's Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as partially unconstitutional.

 

Aquino also accused the high court of trying to transfer funds to the executive branch--one of the acts under the DAP declared as unconstitutional. —NB, GMA News