House receives Ombudsman subpoena for SALNs of ex-deputy secgen

The House of Representatives received Tuesday the subpoena issued by the Office of the Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla concerning the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) of former House deputy secretary general Sofonias Gabonada. 

The House, through Secretary General Cheloy Garafil, received the subpoena on April 7 at 10:38 am.

The development came less than 24 hours after Remulla warned Garafil against repeated refusal to comply with the Ombudsman’s subpoena on Gabonada in connection with the ongoing investigation concerning anomalous flood control projects.

The subpoena covers the following:

• clear and certified true copies of all available SALNs of Gabonada from the commencement of his/her service in the House of Representatives up to the present, and
• attestation/certification by the Records Custodian under the seal of his/her office that he/she has the custody of the foregoing documents, and that the copy/copies submitted is/are correct copy/copies of the original, or a specific part thereof, as the case may be.

“We seek these documents to assess whether there has been any undeclared accumulation of wealth or financial anomalies that may indicate misconduct. In light of this, pursuant to the provisions of Section 13, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution and Section 15.8 of Republic Act 6770 (The Ombudsman Act of 1989), youare hereby directed to submit these documents within three days from receipt of this subpoena,” the subpoena read.

Gabonada served as the House deputy secretary general during the tenure of former Speaker Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez from 2022 to 2025.

“The Office of the Ombudsman is currently conducting a thorough investigation into the alleged irregularities concerning certain infrastructure projects. A critical component of this investigation involves the SALN,” the subpoena added.

Further, the Ombudsman also ordered Garafil to submit a certification under oath if ever the documents are not available and explain the reason.

“Failure to comply within the period stated in this subpoena will merit the filing of criminal charges pursuant to Article 233 of the Revised Penal Code and Presidential Decree No. 1829, as well as administrative charges pursuant to Sections 33 and 36 of Republic Act No. 6770, against you,” the subpoena read. —AOL, GMA News