CSC chief urges task force to consider Congress on RA 6713

MANILA, Philippines - A civil service official said yesterday that the task force who will review a government official’s assets and liabilities should consider asking Congress to enact a stronger law that will clearly penalize violations of Republic Act 6713.

In an interview with The STAR, Civil Service Commission (CSC) chairperson Francisco Duque III said that the gaps and other problems exposed during the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona should serve as guide towards establishing a more credible instrument of transparency.

According to Duque, RA 6713 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees requires public officials to fill up and file their statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) annually.

On the other hand, government agencies are supposed to form review and compliance committees to ensure that declarations are correct and accurate in order to give the filer a chance to rectify his or her errors.

However, no government office, not even the CSC, has ever complied with the requirement to form such a committee because “there are no penal provisions, no pain of penalty” for not doing so.

“Kung may kaakibat na kaparusahan iyan eh palagay ko magkakandarapa lahat na bumuo ng review and compliance committee (If there’s a corresponding penalty I believe that everyone will rush to form a review and compliance committee),” Duque said in Filipino.

He said this would be among the issues that the task force might discuss once it convenes next month and meets for the first time in May to set the agenda.

The group is also expected to look into the matter of acquisition cost when it comes to declaring the value of a government official’s real properties which should be the basis for an accurate declaration of how much a person’s net worth is.

Duque said the task force would be composed of representatives from the Office of the President, the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, the Sandiganbayan, Commission on Audit, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the public sector labor unions and confederations.

Earlier, Duque expressed the view that at least four laws need to be reviewed and possibly amended including RA 6713, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Land Registration Act, and laws related to the registration of vehicles.

Duque said he would head the task force, which will propose amendments to the current SALN forms being used so that more detail can be put on it without making the document too complicated.