Sotto: Candidate Duterte should disclose SALN, take voluntary drug test along with other bets
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III, a vice presidential candidate, on Tuesday said President Rodrigo Duterte should disclose his wealth declarations to the public.
He also reiterated his stand that candidates, which would include Duterte now that he is seeking a Senate seat, should voluntarily submit themselves to drug tests.
"Yes, I believe so." Sotto told ANC's "Headstart" when asked if he thinks Duterte should release his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
"He is the president. The people expect transparency [from] their leaders."
Sotto tried to include mandatory drug tests for candidates when he authored the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 but the provision was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.
Despite this, Sotto said he has regularly submitted himself to drug testing ahead of elections along with his running-mate Sen. Panfilo Lacson and senatorial candidate Gregorio Honasan II.
Duterte to release SALN if elected to Senate, Palace says
Later the same day, acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said Duterte would finally release his SALN if he is elected to the Senate.
"I'm sure the president will follow whatever protocols there are in the Senate," he told reporters during a briefing aired on state media. The Senate releases summaries of senators' SALNs, a step that it adopted under Sotto. He said this was to balance transparency and to protect sensitive information like legislators' addresses.
The president has not released his SALN since 2017.
Malacañang insists that Duterte could release his SALN on his own but will not do so out of "respect" for the Office of the Ombudsman, referring to a memo released by the latter that requires notarized authorization from the documents' filers before they are released.
Although the Senate issues summaries, full copies of senators' SALNs are harder to obtain. The Senate has not released full SALNs since 2019.
According to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, the policy was put in place through Senate Policy Order 2019-001, which was meant to "restrict the dissemination of personal and privileged information" under the Data Privacy Act.
PCIJ also noted in a report that it formally requested senators' full wealth declarations on May 24, 2021, but was told on July 6 that the request was still pending. — Bella Perez-Rubio
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