Ex-Sen. Saguisag, Sr. Mananzan ask SC to make justices' SALNs public

Former Senator Rene Saguisag and activist nun Sister Mary John Mananzan asked the Supreme Court to make the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) of all the incumbent justices available to the public.

"A public disclosure of the SALNs filed by the incumbent Justices is justified and a necessary consequence of the Supreme Court's Majority Decision on the quo warranto petition against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, where the Court ruled that a member of the Judiciary who chronologically fails to file his or her SALNs violates the Constitution, the law and the Code of Judicial Conduct, and thus cannot he deemed to be a person of proven integrity," argued Saguisag and Mananzan, on behalf of the Movement Against Tyranny, in a request letter sent to the SC's clerk of court.

The petitioners thus requested that the SC's court clerk furnish them copies of all the incumbent justices yearly SALNs, from the time they assumed their position up to their latest filing in 2018.

Voting 8-6, the High Tribunal had granted the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida against Sereno, which questioned the validity of the latter's appointment in 2012 over alleged lack of integrity on the grounds of missing declarations of assets and liabilities.

"Since the majority of the Court has ruled that SALN filing is equivalent to the requirement of integrity, the Supreme Court is now required to be transparent with the SALNs of the incumbent Justices," Saguisag and Mananzana pointed out.

"It cannot now pursue the same prohibitive rules on SALN disclosures as contained in A.M. Nos. 09-8-6-SC as it did prior to its ruling in Republic v. Sereno, as the Court itself has declared that Justices are not above the law."

In A.M. No. 09-8-6-SC, the high tribunal resolved that the authority to disclose copies of SALN of the Justices of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Sandiganbayan and the Court of Tax Appeals shall be made by the Court En Banc so as not to not undermine the independence of the Judiciary.

"Considering the implications of the SC ruling that the inability to prove submission of SALNs is proof of lack of integrity, there is now an overwhelming need for concerned citizens of this Republic to have access to the SALNs of all incumbent Justices of the Supreme Court," the petitioners further argued.

"It is of utmost public interest to verify if the incumbent Justices have in fact faithfully submitted all their SALNs in compliance with the Constitution, the Anti-Graft Law, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees." — John Ted Cordero/DVM, GMA News