Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III said he is ready anytime to make his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) available to the public, but he will consult his peers on their preferences about this matter.
Even before, Sotto pointed out that the Senate has allowed access to the SALNs of senators ‘subject to their individual approval.’
‘And so this is not new to us,’ the Senate chief said in a text message on Wednesday. ‘The only variation is we redact the addresses of their properties.’
Sotto was sought for comment on a new memorandum issued by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday, which lifts the restrictions previously imposed by his predecessor, Samuel Martires.
During Martires’ time, SALNs of government officials could only be accessed if there was a notarized consent from the officials concerned, a court order for its release in relation to a pending case, and if the Office of the Ombudsman’s field investigators needed the records for a fact-finding probe.
But with the new memo, journalists and the public will now just need to present two valid IDs and pay for a reproduction or certification fee to request a copy of an official’s SALN.
‘As of today, and as the memorandum circular is written, there is no need for consent on the part of the public officer whose SALN is requested,’ Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano earlier explained to reporters.
Sotto said he would likely call for a caucus to discuss the new memo with his colleagues.
‘I will seek their permission. Me, I’m ready, ready,’ he said.
‘I will consult my current colleagues on how they prefer theirs,’ Sotto added.
At present, the public may request for a senator’s SALN through the Office of the Senate Secretary.
‘The SALNs of senators are submitted to the Secretary of the Senate, who is also the repository of the SALNs. Requests for SALNs may be filed with the Office of the Senate Secretary,’ Senate Secretary Renato Bantug said in a separate message to reporters. /abc