A STAUNCH supporter of Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Thursday filed a complaint of graft, malversation and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials against Solicitor General Jose Calida with the Office of the Ombudsman.
The complainant, Jocelyn Nisperos Acosta, accused Calida of having an affair with his 22-year-old executive assistant, who supposedly received P1.8 million as compensation.
She also hit Calida for owning 60 percent of capital stocks of security agency Vigilant Investigative and Security Agency Inc, based on the general information sheet filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 29, 2016.
“[Calida’s] wife and three children own 10 percent each,” the complaint read.
Calida’s security agency was able to grab contracts with the National Economic and Development Authority, the National Anti-Poverty Commission, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and National Parks Development Corp., Acosta said, adding that his wife, Milagros signed a contract with NAPC as the agency’s chairperson and president in 2016.
“The fact that his wife remains as president of VISAI proves that respondent still has material pecuniary interest in VISAI,” Acosta said in the complaint.
“Respondent cannot be the lawyer of the government, at the same time its client. By basically owning VISAI, respondent places the government at a disadvantageous position,” she added.
Moreover, Acosta slammed Calida for the filing of a quo warranto petition against Sereno and for the denial of her request that the Office of the Solicitor General file a quo warranto petition against Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita de Castro.
“I am complaining as a private citizen, unabashedly a chief justice supporter. I feel it is unfair that a quo warranto petition against De Castro should not be filed. He outrightly rejected my quo warranto against her in December,” she said.
According to Acosta, the solicitor general may face graft charges for “persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer–the Supreme Court in this case–to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and regulations duly promulgated by competent authority.”
She said Milagros confronted Calida and his rumored girlfriend upon learning about their affair, prompting the girl to take a leave of absence.
Despite the lack of “hard evidence,” she urged the Ombudsman to look into Calida’s alleged extra-marital affair.
Calida can also be culpable for exhibiting “total bias” under Article 2308 of the Revised Penal Code since as a Marcos loyalist, he proposed the abolition of the Presidential Commission on Good Governance, the government agency that seized supposed ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family.
“The fact that the PCGG does in fact currently refuse to perform its mandate of running after Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth, all point to the same conclusion: respondent is not true to his oath as solicitor general. He is not acting as a lawyer for the government. He lawyers for the Marcoses,” the complaint said.
