'SALN details can pose security risks'

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang expressed support yesterday for Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario’s position that not all details in the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of officials should be published so not to put them and their families at risk.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said some pieces of information like addresses and names of young children could be restrained from getting published.

“That can be done because... that information is not relevant to you... So yes, that can be taken out because we have to remember that the entire spirit of the SALN is for you to be able to see the net worth, the liabilities and compare them to the previous SALNs. So that information can be redacted,” Valte said.

She said this could be discussed next time SALNs were released to the media for publication.

The publication of SALNs may put an official’s family at risk, Del Rosario said.

Del Rosario made the comment when asked about being rated as the wealthiest member of President Aquino’s Cabinet with more than half a billion pesos net worth.

Peter Wallace, president of the Wallace Business Forum and chair of the Management Association of the Philippines national issues committee, read the question for Del Rosario about being the richest Cabinet member.

Wallace told Del Rosario, “I’m not going to ask you to answer this one. I’ll answer this for you. And the reaction is you told the truth.”

“If I can be honest, I think that it’s a big sacrifice enough to be able to serve the government and people of the Philippines, but I think there are some risks in terms of publishing of SALNs that necessarily put an official’s family at risk, which is totally unnecessary,” Del Rosario responded.

Malacañang released the SALNs of Cabinet members on Tuesday.

Del Rosario, 72, declared a net worth last year of P657,834,755. His assets increased by P30 million from his net worth in 2010.

A successful businessman before entering public service as Philippine ambassador to the United States and foreign affairs secretary, Del Rosario’s business career spanned a vast field that included insurance, banking, real estate, shipping, telecommunications, consumer products, retail, pharmaceutical, and food industries, among others.