Duterte refuses to release SALNs

PRESIDENT DUTERTE has refused to release his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) to which have been kept secret since 2018 despite repeated calls for him to make all documents public.

Even Vice President Leni Robredo called on Duterte to release his SALN. “The SALN is just one of the many ways through which you can prove that you are truly transparent and show you are not corrupt,” she said. 

Duterte’s spokesman, Harry Roque, said it is up to the Office of the Ombudsman to release the President’s SALNs. 

“The stance of the Office of the President has been clear and consistent: We leave it to the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent constitutional body, to release to the public President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

The President has complied with his constitutional duty to submit or file his SALN.

Interested parties may therefore wish to write a formal communication to the Office of the Ombudsman, which has copies of SALNs of all public officials, asking for a copy of the said document,” Roque said. 

But Ombudsman Samuel Martires, a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, has restricted public access to the SALNs of Duterte and other government officials, saying “they have been weaponized.” 

“Nagiging weaponized ang SALN, ginamit po ito na means para siraan ang isang tao o siraan ang isang kalaban sa pulitika,” Martires said last year during the House of Representatives’ deliberations on the Office of the Ombudsman’s 2021 budget.

He also issued new guidelines on the request for copies of a government official’s SALN, decreeing that release would be limited only to requests from the declarant himself or herself and from government officers conducting investigations. 

Senator Leila de Lima also criticized Duterte for refusing to release his SALNs. “Ginagawa na naman tayong tanga ng mga ito. Mr. Duterte, how difficult is it to release your SALN to the public if you really want to and are sincere in adhering to your constitutional duty to be transparent and accountable to the people? Do you really still need the help of the Ombudsman to decide for you whether or not to disclose your SALN to the people?” she asked. 

“Sabi mo wala kang kinakatakutan. Bakit naduduwag ka sa paglabas ng SALN mo? Masyado na bang malaki ang kinita mo sa gobyerno mula nung umupo ka sa Malacañang? Sa ilalim ng saya ng Ombudsman mo pa napiling magtago. Stop hiding under the skirt of the Ombudsman. Man up and show the people that you have nothing to hide. Otherwise, you are just another coward who does not deserve to be in government,” she added. (Mindanao Examiner)