Filing of SALN has new rules

CEBU, Philippines - April 30 is the deadline of the submission of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of the government officials and employees.

Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol said under the law, all government employees and officials are required to file their SALN. If they fail to do so, he said they will be facing charges.

Yesterday, the anti-graft office conducted a seminar on officials and employees on how to fill up the new form of SALN.

Apostol said the seminar is very important because the filing of SALN is done yearly, before the end of April 30. The SALN will cover the previous year from January to December 31.

Lawyer Ariel Bacatan of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) was the lecturer. The CSC was mandated to revise the SALN form.

The SALN, Apostol said was a good mechanism to determine the ill gotten wealth of a certain official or employee.

He said that ill-gotten wealth belongs to the government and be forfeited in favor of the government.

Those who place false claims in the SALN will face possible charges falsification and perjury. The penalty, if found guilty, is P5,000-fine and not more than five years imprisonment for perjury and for falsification, eight years imprisonment.

Meanwhile, Apostol said a complainant must stand against ill-gotten wealth of government officials and employees.

“Hindi namin alam na ill-gotten wealth yan kung walang mag-file ng complaint,” he said.

Aside from the SALN, the government officials and employees are to disclose their business interest and financial connections including those of their spouses, unmarried children under 18 years old living in their households and disclosures of relatives in the government.

Though the spouses are not working in the government, Apostol said that in the new SALN form they have to affix their signature. (FREEMAN)