PHILIPPINES

Who is Helen Macasaet, the I.T. expert who caused tension in SC?

The SC's current information systems head disapproves of Macasaet, who describes herself as a 'pioneer'
in I.T.

Lian Buan

@lianbuan

Published 5:15 PM, February 07, 2018

Updated 5:16 PM, February 07, 2018

I.T CONSULTANT. Helen Macasaet, hired as consultant in the court's I.T masterplan, causes tensions and
controversy inside the Supreme Court. Photo by Darren Langit/Rappler

I.T CONSULTANT. Helen Macasaet, hired as consultant in the court's I.T masterplan, causes tensions and
controversy inside the Supreme Court. Photo by Darren Langit/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – Information Technology or I.T. consultant Helen Macasaet attended for the first
time on Wednesday, February 7, the House justice committee’s hearing on the impeachment complaint
against Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

An internal investigation by the SC found that her hiring violated procurement processes. There is also an
administrative case pending before the court en banc.

It was Sereno’s office that hired her – and Representative Reynaldo Umali said it has serious implications
on the Chief Justice.
Her personality, whichever way it’s appreciated, livened up the hearings that have been dragging for
nearly 4 months now, and which was on its 14th session on Wednesday.

Lawmakers slammed the SC’s payment of P250,000 a month to Macasaet.

Speaking for herself on Wednesday, Macasaet was unapologetic about being rich, with or without the
SC.

She proudly answered "yes" when a lawmaker commented, “Ang yaman-yaman mo (You’re very rich)”
after she said that she once earned P500,000 a month in the 90s when she was in the private sector.

She acquired her wealth through 30 years of being one of the country’s leading I.T. experts. Among her
credentials is being a consultant for the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in the great data
crash of 2009 where she was paid P900,000 a month.

“GSIS has continued to use the technical architecture that I re-implemented,” Macasaet said, describing
herself as a "pioneer" in I.T.

Other credentials include consulting for Social Security Systems (SSS), Hyundai Motors, various colleges
and international investment firms, and the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB).

Hiring

Macasaet was hired for the SC’s Enterprise Information Systems Plan (EISP), which aims to digitize
judicial processes to speed up case litigation.

She earned a total of P11 million for renewed contracts, which lasted 4 years, from October 2013 to
November 2017. (This changed from the last hearing where it was said she earned only P10 million.)
Sereno’s chief judicial staff Ma. Lourdes Oliveros admitted that Macasaet was her friend.

Macasaet herself met Sereno during 3 events where the Chief Justice delivered public speeches where
she spoke of the court’s digitizing efforts. Macasaet said that after Sereno declared in a speech that she
was looking for someone to run the EISP, they were introduced during that occasion.

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After that, the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) facilitated her hiring. They categorized this under a
negotiated procurement, which is allowed under the procurement law if it meets certain requirements.
She was classified as a highly technical consultant, which was one of the requirements.

Lawmakers asked Oliveros if she influenced Sereno to hire Macasaet. “The Chief Justice cannot even be
influenced by presidents,” Oliveros said.

Tensions

Macasaet said that if setting up the judiciary’s I.T. system was like constructing a building, then she was
the chief architect, designing the blueprint that would govern the system for 2,700 courts. The EISP is a
continuing project of the court.

Her curriculum vitae and confidence in her skills notwithstanding, some Supreme Court officials are not
that impressed.

For example, Carlos Garay, now the acting chief of the SC’s Management Information Systems Office
(MISO), said he doesn’t see why the SC would need a consultant like Macasaet. (READ: Sereno
impeachment: Cracks in the Supreme Court)
The MISO implements the EISP, with Macasaet as consultant.

“I did not need any I.T. consultant. When I came to the Supreme Court, I was confident of my capabilities
so that I do not need any generalized consultant, probably specific, specialized consultants that would
help me,” Garay said.

It wasn’t Garay, but the former MISO chief, the deceased Ed Davis, who also oversaw Macasaet’s hiring
with the OCJ. A lawmaker pressed Garay: had he been the boss at the time, would he have hired
Macasaet?

“I would probably need consultants who have specialties in specific fields, for instance, security of
information systems, not the general kind like Macasaet,” Garay said.

Asked if he believes that Macasaet has not contributed anything "substantial" to the court’s overall I.T.
masterplan, Garay said: “Probably, your honor.”

Garay earns P114,000 a month, compared to Macasaet’s P250,000 a month.

Lawyer Michael Ocampo, also of the Office of the Chief Justice, said Macasaet and Garay did not always
see eye to eye due to Macasaet being a "straight talker".

Joselito Enriquez, MISO’s chief judicial staff head, said that he can attribute to Macasaet the project’s
work and financial plans, application system, and the timeline of implementation.

In a statement on Wednesday, Sereno's camp maintained: "The hiring of Helen Macasaet was done in
accordance with the Government Procurement Reform Laws."

Was she paid too much?

Macasaet said that what the SC paid her was substantially lower than what she could have earned
elsewhere, for example the P3 million annual salary she received as president of a consultancy firm that
she gave up to be able to work for the SC.

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“In the Supreme Court, the P250,000, you take out all the taxes, and then I have to pay for my own
internet, buy my own laptop, pay for my gasoline, toll fee, pay all my expenses to support my work, I
don’t receive allowance unlike most employees of the Supreme Court,” Macasaet said.

She added: “Excluding all those, I would be getting a net of P80,000 which I used to buy my makeup, and
sometimes to buy a pair of shoes, some decent clothes, to face the judges and the justices of the
Supreme Court.”

“It’s not comparable to any salaries or salary packages of the employees of the court or government, I
have to pay for my own medical expense,” Macasaet said.

Technology has been Sereno’s pet project in the SC, promising faster justice with electronic courts or e-
courts.

In January 2017, Sereno reported there were already 197 e-courts in 8 cities nationwide, with a target of
300 by yearend. – Rappler.com

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PHILIPPINES

House panel on its 14th hearing for Sereno impeachment

(UPDATED) BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa will testify on the income tax returns of Sereno in
relation to her Piatco earnings

Lian Buan

@lianbuan

Published 10:14 AM, February 07, 2018

Updated 11:15 AM, February 07, 2018

EMBATTLED. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has been the subject of 14 hearings so far, each one
lasting a full work day, as the House justice committee determines probable cause to impeach her. Photo
by Alecs Ongcal/Rappler

EMBATTLED. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has been the subject of 14 hearings so far, each one
lasting a full work day, as the House justice committee determines probable cause to impeach her. Photo
by Alecs Ongcal/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The House Justice Committee is on its 14th hearing to determine
probable cause to impeach Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
The committee continues to scrutinize internal workings of the Supreme Court on accusations that some
of Sereno-sanctioned acts violated rules and processes.

On Wednesday, February 7, Sandiganbayan Justice Zaldy Trespeses returns to the panel.

Trespeses used to be Sereno’s top staff at the SC, and he is expected to testify on his knowledge of the
alleged irregular acts, as well as respond to the accusation that his promotion to the anti-graft court was
due to Sereno’s manipulation of shortlists of the Judicial and Bar Council or JBC.

The JBC is the body that screens individuals and recommends appointees to the judiciary and Office of
the Ombudsman for the president's scrutiny and possible choice.

Other people to watch out for on Wednesday will be Helen Macasaet, the I.T. consultant whose hiring
became the subject of an internal investigation at the Supreme Court and eventually an administrative
case still pending before the en banc, for supposedly violating procurement processes.

Previous testimonies pointed to the Office of the Chief Justice as the office that oversaw Macasaet’s
hiring.

Sereno’s staff lawyer Michael Ocampo was invited again on Wednesday. Lawmakers have been eager to
question him for issues related to the use of luxury vehicles, foreign travels of Sereno and staff, and
alleged lavish accommodations on office trips.

ITRs

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa opened the hearing on
Wednesday to testify on Sereno’s Income Tax Returns or ITR.

Guballa took the place of Commissioner Caesar Dulay and is expected to testify on Sereno’s Income Tax
Returns or ITR.
"We have here ITRs from taxable years 2004 to 2010 that the committee might need," Guballa said.

Guballa said that the Office of the Executive Secretary had cleared the release of such documents. The
years 2004 to 2010 cover the period when Sereno worked as a lawyer for the government’s Philippine
International Air Terminals Company Incorporated (Piatco) case.

Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali said the tax issues will be the focus of the hearing.

Complainant Larry Gadon, in his hunt for documents, had been wanting to get his hands on copies of
Sereno’s ITRs. At the early stage of the complaint back in August, Majority Leader Representative Rodolfo
Fariñas even said they can subpoena them if the BIR does not provide Gadon copies.

Guballa’s testimony on Wednesday will reveal just why Gadon was so interested in seeing her ITRs.

Money trail

Sereno’s income and assets have been scrutinized in the hearings, but only insofar as proper declarations
are concerned.

The biggest issue so far has been that there seems to be 17 missing Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and
Net Worth (SALNs) from the time when Sereno was a law professor at the University of the Philippines
(UP). For that, Gadon has filed a graft complaint against Sereno at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Sereno has also been accused of not declaring all her earnings when she worked as a lawyer for the
government’s Philippine International Air Terminals Company Incorporated (Piatco) case.
Sereno said that when she filed her SALN in 2010 when she became a Supreme Court justice, her Piatco
earnings had already dissipated. She said her ITRs would show she paid the right taxes due her income,
which reached P30 million overall. – Rappler.com

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