EDITORIAL - Mechanism for verification

Among the first official acts of the Supreme Court yesterday, with Renato Corona no longer the chief justice, was to lift a resolution that effectively kept under lock and key the annual statements of assets, liabilities and net worth or SALNs of SC justices.

The high tribunal, in a full court session, also approved the release of the SALNs of justices and judges of lower courts. The SC resolution, passed over a decade ago, ran counter to Section 17 of Article XI on public accountability in the 1987 Constitution, which provides that the asset statements of SC justices, among other top public officials, “shall be disclosed to the public in the manner provided by law.” Yet the SC resolution was never lifted until yesterday.

The manner of disclosure and the assets required for inclusion in the SALN were provided in detail by Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees, which was enacted in February 1989. Corona’s failure to comply with the law led to his ouster as chief justice, according to many of the senators who voted to convict him.

As public officials review their SALNs more closely for proper compliance with RA 6713, mechanisms for verifying the accuracy of the asset statements should also be fine-tuned. SALNs can be matched with an official’s tax payments, for example. If public officials routinely lie in their SALNs, it is because they think they can get away with it.

At the same time, an information campaign should be launched, so that those required to file SALNs will know what information is expected in the asset declarations. RA 6713 has a detailed list of assets that must be declared in the SALN, and there are individuals who may need assistance from an accountant to ensure the accuracy of their asset statements. Several senators pointed out that the secrecy clause in the Foreign Currency Deposit Act or RA 6426 can be easily reconciled with the requirement in RA 6713 for the disclosure of cash “on hand or in banks” by simply declaring the total peso equivalent of all bank deposits.

The lifting yesterday of the SC resolution on the secrecy of justices’ SALNs is a good step toward promoting transparency and public accountability. Now there must be an effective mechanism to verify all SALNs for accuracy.