Senate clarifies rules on release of senators’ SALNs

The Senate on Monday clarified its procedures for the release of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth of incumbent senators in accordance with transparency and data privacy regulations.

In a statement, Senate Secretary Atty. Renato Bantug Jr. said the release of the summaries of senators’ SALNs will be governed by Policy Order 2019-001 on the Release or Posting of the SALN Summaries of Senators.

Kailangan ng notarized request kapg hihingi ng kopya ng SALN ng mga senador @dzbb pic.twitter.com/xiIXChOw0a

— Nimfa R. Ravelo (@nimfaravelo) October 20, 2025

“The authority of the Senate Secretary under the said Policy Order extends to posting the approved SALN summaries of the incumbent Senators on the Senate website and releasing copies thereof after a request is made in the prescribed format,” he said.

However, access to more detailed information beyond the data contained in the published summaries will need a duly notarized request from the requesting party.

The notarized request should specify the purpose for accessing more detailed information.

“This is to ensure that the request is legitimate and not made for prohibited purposes listed under Republic Act No. 6713,” Bantug said, referring to the Code of Standards and Ethical Conduct for Public Officials and Employees.

“Such additional information shall be released with the concurrence of the concerned Senator, subject to existing regulations on data privacy,” he added.

“To uphold the privacy of the declarants and their families, personal information such as home addresses, names and birthdates of minor children, signatures, and government-issued identification numbers shall be redacted from the statements,” Bantug stressed.

The Senate’s clarification of its rules on the release of SALNs came a few days after Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III said the House will issue its own guidelines on the public disclosure of the SALNs of House members.

Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III and several senators also expressed their willingness to make their SALNs available to the public.

Last week, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla issued a memorandum that lifted some of the restrictions on the public disclosure of SALNs previously imposed by his predecessor, Samuel Martires.

The new SALN rules scrapped the earlier requirement that the SALN owner give his or her consent for the public disclosure of the document.— JMA, GMA Integrated News