All lawmakers, members of the judiciary and key officials of the executive branch and other government institutions are required to file statements of assets, liabilities and net worth every year. The SALNs are filed with different offices including that of the ombudsman.
The President and other Malacañang officials as well as members of both chambers of Congress release their SALNs to the media. But in other offices, a Freedom of Information Act is needed to facilitate public access to the official records; not many requests for access are granted. Most people, however, can hardly care, considering the declarations in the SALNs that have been made public in the past years. The most memorable so far was the one filed by former first lady Imelda Marcos during her first term as congresswoman, when her net worth showed her as the poorest member of the chamber. No one went after her for perjury and, considering the caliber of her accountants, the SALN would have probably withstood close scrutiny. For many Filipinos, the SALNs provide comic relief and little else.
Even if all key public officials filed their SALNs religiously every year and opened the statements to public scrutiny, is there an efficient system of verifying the declarations? Certain positions require appointees to divest themselves of assets to avoid conflict of interest. How easily can this requirement be subverted? Some lawmakers won’t even admit that they live in posh villages such as Forbes Park. Instead they declare modest addresses where they spent their childhood as their residence. Experience has also shown how tough it can be to trace assets stashed overseas, which are surely not declared in official SALNs.
Actual worth can also be difficult to assess when assets are placed in the names of an official’s spouse, children, in-laws, and even mistresses and their children. In the past, certain powerful individuals have also entrusted to cronies for safekeeping assets acquired through questionable means.
With the spotlight now focused on the SALNs, the weaknesses of this requirement are being exposed. The administration that professes to put a premium on transparency and accountability should start working on new rules and systems that will compel more accuracy in the asset declarations.