THE Commission on Appointments yesterday approved the ad interim appointments of Presidential Security Group commander Brig. Gen. Ramon Zagala and 48 other senior officers of the Armed Forces.
Before Zagala’s confirmation, Sen. Imee Marcos asked him about increases in his net worth which “were not reflected completely” in his records.
“Clarify why your net worth rose by P26,655,799 from December 2019 to December 2022 or a net increase of P16 million plus plus. Your cumulative income for the same period is only a total of P4 million plus, resulting in an unaccounted increase of P12 million plus,” Marcos said.
Zagala said the increase was due to the sale of a property in Tagaytay City, which he inherited from his parents a “long time ago.” He said he could no longer maintain it. He said he got around P7 million after the property was sold in 2017. He said another family property, in Baguio City, was sold and this earned him around P5 million.
“But these were the properties of my late father and mother that were sold and divided amongst us siblings,” Zagala said.
Marcos was satisfied with Zagala’s explanations.
Marcos also asked Brig. Gen. Lenart Lelina, commander of the 801st Brigade based in Hinabangan, Samar, to explain why he did not include in his submissions to the Commission a past case wherein he was charged with a crime involving moral turpitude.
“Your affidavit indicates that you have not been charged of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude when in fact the Supreme Court records indicate that while you were not convicted, you were charged before the Commission on Human Rights or the Provincial Prosecutor of Eastern Samar of a crime involving moral turpitude,” Marcos said.
“Why have you indicated otherwise in you submission before the Commission?” she added.
She said the case filed before the local court was estafa.
Lelina said the case happened when he was still a second lieutenant and has been “resolved a long time ago.” He said the case was about a carabao entrusted to their detachment, which was confiscated after an operation against the New People’s Army.
“So, after some time when the NPAs who were caught were set free, I was told by our battalion to dispose of that carabao. But later on, they made a complaint before the CHR and so I was the one implicated. But our battalion paid,” Lelina said.
After brief exchanges, members of the CA panel endorsed the appointees’ confirmation to the plenary, which was later approved with no objections.