Senate reminds empoloyees, senators to submit SALNs

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate Secretariat reminded about 1,000 employees on Monday to make sure that all their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN) are submitted by end of office hours on Tuesday.

The Senate secretariat, where all SALNs of senators and their employees are submitted, issued the reminder through its public announcement system.

At the same time, re-electionist Sen. Loren Legarda also urged fellow candidates to submit for public scrutiny their real net worth, including every peso spent for the campaign.

Legarda said she filed her SALN on April 11.

“In the interest of transparency, it is incumbent upon all State workers, especially those seeking reelection to public office, to submit their true net worth and declare their real assets instead of hiding them,” she stressed.

She also urged fellow candidates to be transparent as to how much they are really spending for the campaign.

“Judging from the volume of TV and radio ads hitting the airwaves, some candidates must be spending a fortune just to be known and get elected,” Legarda noted.

The senator said Filipinos deserve to know every centavo that candidates spend for the campaign “because they have to justify how they’re going to recover such huge amounts.”

Seeking a fresh term under the Team PNoy coalition, Legarda said she prepared her own SALN with help from her friends at the accounting firm SGV. She said her SALN reflects her true net worth.

“As public officials, it behooves upon us to set the example. We must file a truthful SALN as early as possible,” she said.  Legarda however referred reporters to the Senate secretariat when they asked for  a copy of her SALN, which she submitted last April 11.

Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, requires government officials and employees to honestly declare, under oath, all assets, liabilities, net worth and financial and business interests, including those of their spouses and unmarried children under 18.