How to request an official's SALN

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has issued a new memorandum removing restrictions on public access to Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of public officials, scrapping the 2020 memo by his predecessor requiring consent from SALN holder for the wealth statement to be disclosed in public.

Under the new policy, how does one request a government official's SALN?

Under Remulla’s memo, a request for a copy of a SALN of a public official may be filed before the Ombudsman’s Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office (PACPO) at the Central Office, or any Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Bureau (PACPB) of the Ombudsman’s regional or sectoral offices.

The PACPO or PACPB receiving the request will then be responsible for determining the official repository and, if necessary, internally forwarding the request to the appropriate office within the Ombudsman.

For public officials or employees not covered in the list, or for newly created government offices, the Central Office shall serve as a default repository, unless otherwise provided by law. 

Further, any requesting party who publishes, broadcasts, or otherwise publicly disseminates any output derived from the obtained SALN shall submit a copy or an accessible link of each output to the Office of the Ombudsman through the same PACPO or PACPB where the request was made. 

But under the new memorandum, an official may obtain the requesting party’s information upon a written proof of specific violations, such as: evidence of improper public dissemination; evidence of harassment or extortion; or other clear misuse. 

The memorandum also provided that the PACPO or PACPB shall maintain an official verification service for SALNs filed with the Office of the Ombudsman. It added that the public may submit a SALN for authentication for a fee. 

According to the Civil Service Commission, the head of the personnel/administrative unit or unit/human resource management office shall transmit all original copies of the SALNs to the concerned offices mentioned below: 

• National Office of the Ombudsman (Present, Vice President, chairpersons and commissioners of Commission on Audit, Commission on Election, and Civil Service Commission; Ombudsman and his deputies) 
• Secretary of the Senate (Senators) 
• Secretary of the House of Representatives (congressmen) 
• Court administrator (judges of the  Regional Trial Court, Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, Municipal Trial Court, Municipal Circuit Trial Court, and Shari’a District Courts) 
• Office of the President (Cabinet members, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, foreign service officials, heads of GOCCs, heads of state colleges and universities, officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from the rank of colonel or naval captain, Philippine National Police from the rank of senior superintendent, and the Philippine Coast Guard from the rank of commodore) 
• Deputy Ombudsman in the respective region (regional officials and employees of the departments, bureaus, agencies, GOCCs, SUCs; and provincial and municipal elective officials; AFP officers below the rank of colonel or naval captain; PNP officers below the rank of senior superintendent; and PGC officers below the rank of commodore) 
• Civil Service Commission (all other officials and employees of departments, bureaus, agencies, judiciary and constitutional commissions, GOCCs; all the other appointive officials and employees of the legislature; all civilian personnel of the AFP; all other uniformed personnel below the rank of senior superintendent and non-uniformed personnel of the AFP; and all other central officers below the rank of commodore and civilian personnel of the PCG)

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano earlier said that 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. –NB, GMA Integrated News