Arrogant disregard

MANILA, Philippines - What has come to light in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona is the cavalier attitude of most public officials toward the SALN, as required under Art. 11, Sec. 17 of the Constitution: a public officer or employee shall “submit a declaration under oath of his assets, liabilities and net worth” and “the declaration shall be disclosed to the public in the manner provided by law”. That law is primarily RA 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials). Of the 188 members of the 15th Congress who filed the impeachment case against Corona, 185 have reportedly not disclosed their SALNs.

To break the back of the culture of corruption and duplicity in high places, this is a good time for an independent Truth Commission with the sole purpose to review the SALNs of all senior appointive and all elective public officials, starting from the President himself and to make appropriate recommendations on those who have not complied with the law.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), in securing SALNs since 2006 states, “the sorry picture that emerges is one of rank non-compliance — or creative defiance of the law — not just by the justices of the Supreme Court from 1992, but also by the members of the 15th Congress, the executives of the constitutional commissions, the Office of the Vice President, and the star-rank officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, among others.”

The sole exception is the Senate which PCIJ writer, Malou Mangahas, describes as “most exemplary in its compliance with the law.”

The SALNs are now lodged in different government agencies — Office of the President, the Clerk of Court, the Court Administrator, the Secretaries of the Senate and of the House, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Civil Service Commission.

Under RA 6713, Sec. 8: “All Public Officials….. shall execute …the necessary authority in favor of the Ombudsman to obtain from all appropriate government agencies, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, such documents as may show their assets, liabilities, net worth, and also their business interests and financial connections in previous years...”

The Truth Commission with a fixed tenure can work on this task with the Office of the Ombudsman.

If the government is not disposed to revive a Truth Commission, albeit for a limited purpose then, at the least, it should pass the Freedom of Information Act so that civil society can do the job.