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Ombudsman scraps 'consent requirement' for SALN access
The Office of the Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday issued a memo scrapping the restriction on access to the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of public officials.
Under the still unnumbered Memorandum Circular, all requests for copies of SALNs will be granted, except in the following cases:
- The Ombudsman is not the official repository [of the SALN of the public official concerned]
- The requested SALN is not on file
- The request is for an unauthorized commercial purpose
- The requesting party has a derogatory record of misuse
- The request is linked to a pending case to influence or harass
- There is evidence of extortion or safety threats
- The identity of the requesting party is fictitious
- The purpose is contrary to law, morals, or public policy
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano shows Office of the Ombudsman memo lifting restrictions on public access to Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of public officials
— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) October 14, 2025
The new memo scrapped the old requirement of consent from SALN owner @gmanews pic.twitter.com/MejIG56yMf
“Transparency is the name of the game... There is no need for consent on the part of the public officer whose SALN is being requested. The only thing that the requesting party needs to show is ID and to make sure that he or she is not a fictitious person,” said Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano as he presented the Memorandum Circular.
"At a time when trust in institutions is tested, the best way to rebuild confidence is through openness backed by concrete access to information. The office also calls on all agencies that keep official copies of silence, the Civil Service Commission, the Office of the President, Congress, and Judiciary, and the local government units to align their practices with this policy," he added.
The Ombudsman's memo on the SALN covers the President, Vice President, the heads of Constitutional Offices, and local government officials since the Ombudsman is the official repository of the SALNs of these public officials.
The new policy is a reversal of the 2020 memo issued by Remulla's predecessor, former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, who restricted the access to SALN by requiring the consent of the SALN owner for disclosure, among other restrictions.
20 year timeframe
The same Ombudsman memo also provides that SALNs dating back as 20 years ago from the time of the issuance of the new regulations are covered, given that the prescriptive period for the filing of charges against those liable to graft is 20 years as provided under Republic Act 10910.
"Since the law provides for 20 years, then that will also be the period for which you can access SALNs. So, even SALNs filed during the previous Memorandum Circular [was in effect] in the past administration are now open for public viewing," Clavano added.
Clavano said removing restrictions on the public's access to SALN would best serve the public since it provides an instant lifestyle check for public officials.
"The SALN will show us the net worth of the public official, assets, liabilities, and even business interests. Now, if we already have evidence or documents to show that the lifestyle of a person exceeds or is disproportionate to that which is written in his or her SALN, then it can be used in any investigation of any public officer for the violations," Clavano said.
"We are the official repository of these SALNs. Then we can look into them motu proprio (on our own without a complaint). But if there are SALNs which are not within our jurisdiction, we can also ask and request the institutions that have jurisdiction over these SALNs to provide us a copy of such so we can see them," Clavano added. —VAL/BM, GMA Integrated News
