Solon defends Ombudsman policy restricting public access to SALNs

Manila representative Bienvenido Abante of Manila, sponsor of the Office of the Ombudsman's P4.78 billion proposed budget for 2023, defended the Ombudsman's policy of restricting public access to Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth by requiring the consent of the SALN’s owner.

Questioned by House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro about the restriction as provided under Memorandum Circular 1 issued by Ombudsman Samuel Martires in September 2020, Abante said he was not going to contradict Martires.

"Hindi ko po kailanman sasalungatin ang pahayag ng ating Ombudsman, Samuel Martires, dahil ako po ay hindi abogado at siya ay abogado and justice. Mas alam niya ang batas," said the Manila representative.

Martires was a former Sandiganbayan and Supreme Court associate justice.

"Hindi naman puede pilitin ng Ombudsman, kung tama po ako, ang ating mga public officials na magsubmit ng SALN," Abante added.

"Tinanong ko siya (Martires) kanina. Sinabi niya sa akin, ang hindi pagsubmit ng SALN ay walang criminal liability. Walang nakukulong sapagkat hindi nagsubmit ng SALN. Walang nagbabayad ng penalty sapagkat hindi nagsubmit ng SALN. Ito po ay ministerial on the part of public officials to show na sila ay naging tapat sa pagpapahayag ng kanilang SALN."

(The Ombudsman, if I am right, cannot force public officials to submit a SALN. I asked Ombudsman Martires a moment ago and he told me that non-submission of a SALN had no criminal liability. You won't be jailed or penalized because you did not submit a SALN. It is just a ministerial task.)

Under the Ombudsman Office's Memorandum Circular 1, a SALN will be furnished to a requester if:

• he/she is the declarant or the duly authorized representative of the declarant;
• the request is upon lawful order of the court in relation to a pending case; and
• the request is made by the Ombudsman's Field Investigation Office/Bureau/Unit (FIO/FIB/FIU) for the purpose of conducting a fact-finding investigation.

Castro, however, argued that the law did allow public access to an official's SALN and it did not take a lawyer to understand the importance of this kind of access to a public official's documented wealth while he or she is in office.

"Restriction itong [memo] sa sinasabi ng batas. Maiintindihan ito (SALN) ng publiko kasi makikita rito ang lifestyle ng government employees. Itong memo ay paghihigpit sa access ng taumbayan sa pinakamagaling na paraan para makita kung may hidden wealth, ill-gotten wealth... kung merong negosyo siyang dapat hindi pinapasukan o may kamag-anak ang opisyal sa gobyerno," Castro said.

(The memo is a restriction on what the law says. The public will understand a SALN because they will be able to see a government employee's lifestyle. This memo restricts public access to the best way to see if they have hidden or ill-gotten wealth, if they are involved in a business they shouldn't be in, or if they have relatives in the government.)

Abante, however, insisted that submitting a SALN was discretionary on the part of the public official.

"Ako po ay nagbibigay ng SALN taon taon... because that is my prerogative. Palagay ko po, prerogative ng Pangulo o sinoman sa gobyerno ang magsubmit ng SALN," Abante said.

(I submit a SALN every year, and I believe that SALN submissions are a public official's prerogative, whether it is the President or anyone from the government.) — DVM, GMA News