Members of the House of Representatives are open to crafting rules on the public release of their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs), according to Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III.
Dy said they will talk about it during the congressional break to ensure consistent and transparent disclosure. ‘Actually, it’s not being formally discussed, but the House members are talking about it; they’re willing,’ the lawmaker said in a statement as quoted in a radio interview.
‘This is a good thing to discuss. During our break, we’ll discuss it thoroughly so that we can come up with a clear policy on how we will show support for releasing our SALNs,’ he added.
The Office of the Ombudsman lifted restrictions on public access to the SALN of government officials on Tuesday.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla implemented the policy shift by releasing a Memorandum Circular No. 3. The circular contains the guidelines on public access to SALNs filed by public officials and employees. Under Section 3, agency heads are required to collect and submit SALNs of their personnel to the Ombudsman, along with a summary report, by May 31 every year.
Based on the document, SALNs must be filed with any public assistance and corruption prevention office of the anti-graft body’s central office, any public assistance corruption prevention bureau, or sectoral offices.
Those who would like to make a request must do so by filing a form issued by the office, present two valid IDs, pay the reproduction or certification fee, and wait for the respective offices to review the request.