(Eagle News)–The Office of the Solicitor General has said the Commission on Audit’s flagging of over P10 million in alleged excess allowances of several OSG lawyers, including Solicitor General Jose Calida, had “no basis.”
In a statement, OSG spokesperson Hector Calilung said Circular No. 85-25-E cannot prevail over existing laws.
He said Republic Act No. 9417 essentially says that OSG lawyers may receive honoraria without any cap to the amount.
“To allow COA Circular No. 85-25-E to prevail would violate the constitutional prohibition against impairment of contracts,” COA said.
It said this was because “the client agencies of the OSG executed contracts for the payment of OSG allowances.”
“COA certainly cannot render these contracts ineffective by a mere administrative circular,” it said.
It added the appeal on the disallowance was still pending.
In its 2017 report, COA said Calida, Henry Angeles, Herman Cimafranca, James Candangan, Renan Ramos, Rex Bernardo Pascual, Bernard Hernandez, Ma. Antonia Edita Dizon, Raymund Rigodon, Danilo Leyva, Lilian Abenojar, John Dale Ballinan, Perfecto Adelfo Chua Cheng, Laney Layug-Delfin, and Gift Mohametano received allowances above the cap allowed for the extra compensation based on the COA circular issued in 1985.
The circular pegged the cap at 50 percent of the lawyer’s annual basic salary.
According to COA, all lawyers received excess allowances amounting to P10,774,283.93, which it said “were directly remitted to OSG lawyers but not reported to [the Financial Management System].”
Calida, for instance, it said, received P7.46 million in excess allowances even when he was only allowed to receive P913,950 in excess allowance and honoraria based on the COA circular.
The COA said his annual salary was P1.827 million.
The report also noted what it said were the excessive travels of some OSG personnel.