Upholding public’s right to know

After the mandatory posting of government officials’ statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) was practically shuttered under the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte, the Marcos administration must now uphold and restore this tool intended to deter corruption in public office.

The imperative comes as the Civil Service Commission (CSC) recently reminded government officials and employees not only about the April 30 deadline for the submission of the SALN, but also the need for truthfulness in these declarations required by law.

“As civil servants, it is our duty to complete this task truthfully to promote transparency and uphold the public’s trust in both us and the bureaucracy,” CSC chair Karlo Nograles said in a statement posted on the commission’s website.

Sacred obligation

The same statement stressed that the SALN should “reflect the true, detailed, and sworn declaration of one’s assets, liabilities, net worth, and business interests and financial connections, including those of their spouses and of unmarried children under 18 years old residing with them; and relatives in government service within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity.”

All government workers are mandated to file their SALN every year; those who are newly hired must submit their statements within 30 days upon assumption of office, or 30 days after leaving the service. Excluded from this requisite filing are those serving in honorary capacity, as well as laborers and casual or temporary employees.

Just as paying taxes is a duty that citizens cannot escape, the annual filing of the SALN used to be a routine but almost sacred obligation among civil servants. The annual publication of these statements in the media has provided the public a glimpse at the roster of the richest—and poorest—officials in the three branches of government.

‘Lead modest lives’

But more than such overview, the SALN has a far more practical—and noble—purpose. As stated in the CSC website, it is “to promote transparency in the civil service and to establish a deterrent against government officials bent on enriching themselves through unlawful means.”

The SALN requirement springs from the 1987 Constitution’s provision that public office is a public trust, thus public officials must be “accountable to the people” and “lead modest lives.” The constitutional requirement is also spelled out in Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which explicitly states the scope of this obligation that must be accomplished and submitted under oath.

Unexplained wealth

As devised, the SALN could be used to undertake lifestyle checks on public officials, and serve as basis for investigating any unexplained wealth or possible graft and corruption.

Yet under the previous administration, efforts were made to prevent the public disclosure of the SALN of the President and other officials. Except for 2017, Duterte’s SALNs were not released to the public despite proper requests to Malacañang and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Even worse, Ombudsman Samuel Martires himself, in a memorandum circular issued in 2020, limited access to the document. In his circular, a copy of the SALN can only be obtained by or on behalf of the official who filed it, or if ordered by the court, or as part of a field investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman.

‘Political attacks’

Unless revoked, the Martires circular will continue to defeat the mandate in the Constitution and RA 6713 which favors the public’s right to know the financial state of their officials. This is especially so since there is no indication that the offices or officers mandated to review the SALN are really conducting a diligent review of such statements to root out the unscrupulous in their ranks.

As the highest official of the land, President Marcos must set the tone and example by allowing the release of his own SALN and those of other officials. He should walk back his previous statement echoing the Ombudsman’s reasoning that the SALN could be used for “political attacks” by one’s foes.

SALN-related impeachment

This is apparently a reference to the cases of the SALN-related impeachment of two former Supreme Court chief justices—the late Renato Corona, who was impeached for not declaring his multimillion peso and dollar accounts, and Maria Lourdes Sereno, who was removed from office for the incomplete filing of her SALN before joining the high court.

The Ombudsman’s reasoning again begs the question: Why be afraid of releasing one’s SALN if an official has nothing (illegal) to hide?

That question should guide the new administration in deciding whether it would respect the constitutional mandate on the public’s right to know their officials’ wealth and finances, or follow Duterte’s example of hiding one’s SALN, thus encouraging corruption in government.