Ombudsman SALN memo excludes personal info, mandates full assets disclosure

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla recently issued a Memorandum Circular lifting restrictions on public access to the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of public officials by doing away with the SALN owner’s required consent for public disclosure, among others.

Remulla’s memo, however, is not a case of free-for-all to ensure that public interest is served and the accountability of the SALN owners and requesters are established at the same time.

For one, the SALN that will be released by the Ombudsman based on a justified request will redact the following personal information:

• the permanent and complete home address of the SALN declarant/owner
• the names, dates of birth, and ages of any unmarried children below 18 years old living in the SALN declarant’s household
• signatures of the SALN declarant and co-declarant, if any, and
• the government-issued identification numbers of the SALN declarant and co-declarant.

“It cannot be free for all. It doesn’t work that way because there are data privacy and security problems that can arise,” Remulla said prior to the issuance of the new memo.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano clarified that details on SALN owner’s real properties and other pertinent items on his or her assets will not be redacted.

“I hope you understand that it poses a security threat on our public officials, and of course for the minor children as well if we release those types of [personal] details. However, there is a portion in the SALN which states the assets or real properties of a public official. The exact location has to be published as well,” Clavano said on Tuesday upon the issuance of the new memo.

“So, it is the permanent [home] address that we only need to redact. However, the other real properties of the public official will have to be made public. The details of the minor children will have to be redacted, but [for] those children who are of age, that will be public information,” he added.

In a separate Balitanghali interview on Wednesday, Clavano said such SALN public disclosures comes with the job of a public official and should not be taken as an attack.

“Ang policy ni Ombudsman Remulla is not to be too onion-skinned. Huwag naman tayo masyado maging sensitibo sa mga commentary, mga sinasabi on social media, and on mainstream media tungkol sa ating mga SALNs,” Clavano said.

(The policy of Ombudsman Remulla is not to be too onion-skinned. Let us not be too sensitive to commentaries and the things said on social media and on mainstream media about our SALNs.)

“Kasi ‘yun po talaga ang purpose ng SALN: para po ma-analyze at makita ng mga taumbayan kung magkano nga ba talaga ang net worth ng isang tao. At mabangga po nila ‘yan sa iba’t iba mga evidence of disproportionate wealth ng isang public official,” Clavano added.

(Because that is really the purpose of the SALN: so that the people can analyze and see the net worth of a person. And so that they can compare this with other evidence of disproportionate wealth of a public official.)

Although not all public officials observe honest in accomplishing their SALNs, Clavano said the Ombudsman has a mechanism to verify the SALN entries.

This is because the public may submit complaints on the lifestyle of public officials under the Ombudsman’s Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office (PACPO) for the Central Office in Quezon City and the Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Bureau (PACPB) for the Ombudsman’s regional offices.  

“Gusto ni Ombudsman na mag-crowdsourcing tayo. We will maximize social media, mainstream media, lahat po na ang pwede nating pagkukunan ng evidence para po ipakita kung meron man yung disproportionate wealth na sinasabi,” Clavano said.

(The Ombudsman wants us to go into crowdsourcing. We will maximize social media, mainstream media, everything that we can use as sources of evidence and will show disproportionate wealth, if any.)

“Kung meron silang bahay sa Forbes Park or may kotse silang Lamborghini, ganun po, at wala doon sa kanyang SALN, pwede po kayo mag-send ng picture, ng video na siya ang nagdadrive ng kotse, siya ang pumapasok sa bahay, ‘yan po ay mga evidence po ng disproportionate wealth and it’s disproportionate doon sa kanyang SALN,” he added in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(If the SALN owner has a house in Forbes Park or they have a Lamborghini and it’s not in the SALN, you can send a photo or video of him or her driving the car, entering the house. That’s evidence of disproportionate wealth and it’s disproportionate to his SALN.)

Clavano noted that if there is evidence of misrepresentation in the SALN, the concerned government official or employee may be liable for perjury.

“But if there’s evidence to show that it violates Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, then it can be used as well as for fact-finding investigation and hopefully for the filing of whatever case is appropriate, whether that be plunder, malversation of public funds, bribery, and the like,” he said.

Publication requirement 

Remulla’s memo also stated that SALN copies to be released will bear a visible watermark, control number, and a disclaimer that it is a redacted copy issued to a specific requesting party. 

The requesting party will also pay the costs of the SALN’s reproduction and certification.

The requesting party who publishes, broadcasts, or publicly disseminates any output derived from the obtained SALN, including any subsequent republication, edited version, or update should submit a copy or accessible link of each output to the Office of the Ombudsman within five calendar days from the date of publication, republication, or dissemination.

These outputs include but are not limited to news articles, television segments, online posts, or research papers.

The copy or accessible link should be submitted to the Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office at the Ombudsman Central Office or any Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Bureau where the original request was filed.

Clavano explained that the required fee for those requesting SALNs is not a deterrent for requesting parties but will only be enough to cover administrative costs. 

“We’re still trying to rationalize the fee. By the time the memo is effective 15 days from now, we can already issue the fees that will be assessed. But I can assure the public that it will be very menial, very small [amount], just for the payment of photocopies and office supplies,” he added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News