Public access to SALN ‘subject to regulation’

MANILA, Philippines — The public has the right to access information about a public official’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), but this is “not absolute” since no less than the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that such is “subject to regulation.”

“I am not restricting transparency. I am just following doctrinal rulings of the SC. I did not say this – that the right of access to information is subject to regulations. This is a jurisprudence of the SC,” Ombudsman Samuel Martires clarified.

He cited the high court’s “own guidelines” that it set forth in 2012 about SALNs of judges and justices, and the latest case of Louis Biraogo where his denial – through Memorandum Circular 1 (MC 1) – of the release of Vice President Leni Robredo’s SALN was “upheld” by the SC.

“So, this restriction is not limited only to the Ombudsman itself. Even the judiciary, even the last bastion of democracy is putting some restrictions,” Martires explained further, noting that he denied Biraogo’s attempt in 2020 after he “sensed” he was on a “fishing expedition.”

While Biraogo’s petition was thrown out on a technicality, he pointed out that the SC “did not stop there” and reiterated its 2012 resolution that “while access to official records such as the SALN that there is no prohibition, undoubtedly, it is subject to regulation.”

“It further stated that the official’s SALN as provided in RA 6713 (Code of Conduct for Government Officials and Employees), the same is not an absolute vested right,” he told “The Source” host Pinky Webb on CNN Philippines.

“Thus, the SC said, as a custodian of the SALN, the Ombudsman is not bound under every circumstance to allow or grant a request for the disclosure of a SALN of a public official,” the former Supreme Court and anti-graft court Sandiganbayan justice insisted.

“So, the SC sustained us. The SC sustained MC 1,” Martires maintained, setting the record straight that the Ombudsman policy is not based on a whim, but is only for purposes of protecting all public officials from “extortions and harassments” using the SALN issue.

“I will not release the SALN, not only of the President, but of other officers whose SALN is with the office of the Ombudsman, without the authorization from the concerned public official. I will not,” he stressed.

No jail term for journalists

At the same time, the Ombudsman clarified that he never said he wanted more stringent measures such as jail terms for journalists who will make commentaries on the SALNs of officials, as this is already in place under the Code of Conduct for Government Officials.

“I did not make any proposal for a jail term. It is already in the law. I have so many friends in the media and I don’t want to have them jailed. That is why we are trying to reconcile the laws governing SALNs,” Martires said.

The STAR stands corrected in its Oct. 25 issue, where it was unwittingly and erroneously reported that the Ombudsman wants a five-year jail term and a fine of P5,000 to those who may be found to have violated the SALN law.

“When some reporters said that the Ombudsman is richer by P15 million in three months then I should have sued them. But I did not. I respect that. That is their right,” the Ombudsman recalled, acknowledging that being criticized comes with the territory.

“I am just wondering why it is only now that even lawyers do not know the existence of the provisions of Section 8 of RA 6713 and Section 11 of penalties of the same law,” Martires, a veteran criminal lawyer who rose through the ranks to the SC, said.

The Ombudsman pointed out that the Code of Conduct for Government Officials (RA 6713) which took effect in 1960 is actually “in conflict” with the Anti-Graft Law (RA 3019), signed into law 29 years later by the then president Cory Aquino in 1989.

“That’s why we’re trying to harmonize these two laws because many officials are being victimized by the SALN law. There was no express repeal on SALN,” he said. “When RA 6713 was passed it’s already there under prohibited acts.”

Section 8 (D) of RA 6713 prohibits any person to obtain or use the SALN for purposes “contrary to morals or public policy, or any commercial purpose other than by news and communications media for dissemination to the general public.”