De Lima slams Ombudsman for refusing to release Duterte's SALN

Senator Leila De Lima slammed Ombudsman Samuel Martires for refusing to release President Rodrigo Duterte's Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) to the public, ostensibly to protect the interests of public officials including that of the chief executive.

In a Sunday statement, De Lima argued it was rather Martires' duty to protect the public interest and not of government officials, and that he should ensure accountability and transparency in public offices.

“This government only becomes more disgusting by the day. With Ombudsman [M]artires’s declaration that he will not release Duterte’s SALN because he has the duty to protect public officials, this government’s act of turning all principles of accountability and transparency on their head is now complete,” De Lima said.

“With Martires’ pronouncement that this Ombudsman office has now turned its mandate 180 degrees to that of protecting and defending public officials like the President, the people are effectively deprived of their anti-corruption champion. From Tanodbayan, the Ombudsman has now become the Traydorbayan,” she railed.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) recently reported that Duterte had failed to release his SALN about seven months after the April 30 deadline for its filing.

The report pointed out that since the SALN Law was created in 1989, all five presidents before Duterte had public released their SALNs every year either through the Office of the Ombudsman or the Office of the President.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, in 2012 issued Memorandum Circular 03 to provide guidelines in the Office of the Ombudsman’s as regards the release of SALNs of public officials to the public.

The PCIJ quoted Martires as saying that there was such a thing as a "dissenting opinion."

Martires, however, later accused the PCIJ of violating the Anti-Wiretapping law, saying he never consented to an interview for the story.

De Lima said that if Martires could fulfill his duties as Ombudsman and if he continued to betray the public trust, then he should just relinquish his post.

“One can only pull out her hair in anguish at how this otherwise distinguished official has perverted and distorted the rule of law beyond recognition. If Ombudsman Martires cannot fulfill his mandate under the Constitution, he should resign his position,” she said.

“Hold up Duterte to the same stringent standards that you subjected Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to in the submission and disclosure of their SALNs. Otherwise, you will not only be remembered for your double standard, but for your betrayal of the public trust.” — Erwin Colcol/DVM, GMA News