(Eagle News) — Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday, Aug. 17, said Solicitor General Jose Calida’s Supreme Court petition seeking to put a stop to an inquiry into the contracts entered into by his and his family’s security agency with the government has no legal basis.
According to Trillanes, Calida, after all, “does not have any immunity from any legislative inquiry.”
“Let me remind Mr. Calida that he is not a sacred cow,” Trillanes said.
“Mark me, no matter where he hides, Mr. Calida’s corrupt practices will soon be exposed. Tuloy ang imbestigasyon!” he added.
In seeking a temporary restraining order or a permanent injunction on the inquiry which starts on Aug. 16, Calida, his wife Milagros and children Josef, Michelle, and Mark Jorel said such a probe into Vigilant Investigative and Security Agency’s contracts will result in an “unjustified invasion” of affairs, as Trillanes will “intrude into questions that fall outside of a defined subject matter and delve into extraneous issues.”
They said they will therefore “be unduly and irreparably prejudiced, along with Vigilant, which has carried out legitimate operation since 2001.”
“Void” probe
Calida and his kin also criticized the inquiry itself, which they said was “void” as it is “intended to prosecute an alleged conflict of interest that does not meet” legal standards.
They said the probe was also “intended to divert from the standards set” in the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and “will incur the use of public funds for an illegal or unauthorized misappropriation.”
Calida made headlines after reports said his family’s security agency had cornered contracts with several government agencies, including the Department of Justice, worth P200 million.
The reports came out after Calida successfully ousted Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice with his quo warranto petition.
But Calida said he already stepped down as chairman of the security firm.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also noted that it was “a private security agency, not the [Office of the Solicitor General] or the SolGen, who entered into the contracts with the DOJ.”
He said that what was important was that “all procurement laws, rules and regulations were observed when it entered into these contracts.”