Salubrious SALNs

Those pesky SALNs (Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth). How many more public officials will they trip up?

SALNs are fodder for impeachment proceedings, produced time and again whenever charges are brought against innocent-looking public servants. Supreme Court justices, highway robbers (officials, I mean), Chinese mayors --you name the legal forum, the SALN will have figured in it.

The latest: our vice president, resurrected from her busy schedule of serving the country by traveling back and forth to The Hague, where her father is permanently incarcerated. Let’s not get into her latest huffy statement about her travel permissions being processed so late, shall we?

Her very own impeachment hearings in Congress have revealed to all her leaps in wealth over the years. More importantly, we’ve also seen the contrast against the bank transactions that have gushed into and out of her banks. Hundred of millions. Nay, the billions!

Former ombudsman Samuel Martires was right to make it excruciatingly difficult for the nosy public to request for copies of filed SALNs. How best to frustrate those seeking truth and justice?

But it’s a different time now, a slightly more transparent era. In fact, there have been calls to make amends for the cruel way the Duterte Presidency dispatched Ombudsman Melchor Carandang, who was fired and stripped of benefits for daring to speak about the cash flitting in and out of the bank accounts of Duterte pere et fille.

Have you signed the change.org petition supporting Carandang? Did you know President Duterte found Ombudsman Carandang, who was investigating graft and corruption, as guilty of graft and corruption? Carandang lost his retirement benefits and was permanently disqualified from public office. So this petition urges the government to at least reinstate his benefits. Sign the petition, please. Do it now. Don’t even bother finishing this column. Go.

One other remedy recommended by the nosy public was for us to require an automotive waiver of the Bank Secrecy Law if one runs for public office. That way, it will be easy to follow the money when figuring out if public funds have been stolen.

Of course, the law itself will never be repealed by the lawmakers, as it will be tantamount to shooting themselves in the foot with an Uzi. At the same time, they will be stabbing all their patrons and benefactors in the back and front. So perhaps, we can keep the law in place, and just think of creative ways to get that waiver?

Aside from social media pressure, which doesn’t really do much to these thick-skinned hoodlums, perhaps the Commission on Elections (Comelec) can be sneaky, and incorporate that waiver in any application form filed before it by candidates seeking to run That way, all electoral candidates will have signed a waiver as soon as they declare their intentions.

The Comelec can make the waiver benign, making it operative only if the candidate wins. So while the candidate is still stumping around, his finances are safe. But once he wins, then the waiver kicks in, and it’s open season.

The Comelec can even be generous, and make the waiver operative only from the date the candidate steps into this position, leaving all previous bank balances free from scrutiny. How’s that for magnanimity?

This is future proofing, evidently. One may even call it wishful thinking. Whatever. Meanwhile, we need to tackle the billions that Sara Duterte has flung around in her banks. Criminal? Impeachment-worthy? Impeachment, certainly?

Your (educated) guess is as good as mine.