President Rodrigo R. Duterte (File photo)
MANILA – Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday he would personally ask President Rodrigo R. Duterte if he could release his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) to show that he is not hiding anything from the public.
“Mag-uusap po kami ng ating Presidente at para matapos na po itong isyung ito ay tatanungin ko na po, baka naman magbigay ng permiso ang Presidente para isapubliko ang kaniyang SALN (The President and I will talk to put an end to the issue, perhaps he can give his permission to make his SALN public),” Roque said in a press briefing held in Bohol.
He maintained that Duterte is not hiding anything from the public, noting that he was only complying with new guidelines set by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Roque said the President had always released his SALN in previous years, before the Ombudsman’s new guidelines were issued.
“Wala pong tinatago ang ating Presidente. Bago po maglabas ng ganitong guidelines ang Ombudsman, taun-taon naman po nilalabas ni Presidente ang kaniyang SALN (The President is not hiding anything. Before the Ombudsman released these guidelines, the President was releasing his SALN every year),” he added.
Before Ombudsman Samuel Martires was appointed by Duterte in 2018, a reporter could request for certain government officials’ SALNs by writing a formal letter of request addressed to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Under Republic Act 6713 or the SALN Law, the actual SALNs should be open for public inspection at reasonable hours, available for copying after 10 working days from the time they are filed, and available to the public for 10 years from receipt of the record.
The Ombudsman's Memorandum Circular 1 states that SALNs would now be released only in three situations – if the government official who filed it and his/her official representative made a request; if it is legally ordered by the court in relation to a pending case; and if the request is made through the Office of the Ombudsman’s field investigation office for a fact-finding probe.
In all other instances, the circular said, “no SALN will be furnished to the requester unless he/she presents a notarized letter of authority from the declarant allowing the release of the requested SALN.”
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has published the SALNs of past presidents – from Cory Aquino's first SALN in 1989 to Duterte's 2017 SALN.
Duterte, in his October 27 speech, said he is willing to step down if anyone could prove that he was involved in corruption.
“Find me a person or a paper which says that I received one peso and I will resign,” he said. (PNA)
