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Plenary approval
for one SALN?
N Article XI, Acmuntability of Public Offers, of the phitippine Constihjtion, there is this
provision in Sedion 17: 'A public omcer or employee shall, upon assumption of office,
and as often thereafter as may be required by law. submit a deciantion under"bath of hi;
assets, liabilities, and- net worth. In the case of the president, the Vice president, the Mem-
bers of the Cabinet, the Congrs, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Commissions and
other mnstitutional offces, ahd officers of the armed forces with general or flag rank, the
declaration shall be disclosed to the public in the manner provided=by law,,
And in Article II, under State policies, it is provided in Section 2g: .isubject to reasonable
mndjtions prescribed by la$r, the State adopts and implements a policy of fu-ll public disclogure
of all its transactions involving public interest.,,
Monday, Malacafiang, through presidential spokeman Salvador panelo, said the House
of-Last
Representatives may have violated these provisions when it recenuy approved House
Resolution 2467 stating that plenary appro\ral by the House is required befoie a lawmakerb
Statement ofAssets, Liabilities, and Net worth (SALN) may be released. Any request for a
congressman's SALN must give the reason for the request plus payment of ?30b for each
copy.
_ Presidentialspokesman Panelo pointed out that at the staft ofhis administration, president
Duterte issued Executlve Order No. 2 on Freedom of Information, to make the SALttls of of-
ficials in the executive branch alailable to the public to promote transparency. At the time he
issued the executive order, the president said it could only apply to oificials in the Executive
Department and called on Congress to enact a law to make SALNS ofall qovernment oficials
- including those in -the legislative and judicial departments - availableio the public.
There is a reason for opening ofhcials'SALNS open to the publiq especially those handling
great amounts of public funds such as the members of Congress who decide in the annua]
General Appropriations Law where all the nabonal governmenfs tax money and Other in-
come will go. This is to discoumge any move to pad their personal assets with government
money.
At the same time, however, our officials must be shielded from criminal elements who
might see their substantial assets as targeb of opportunity.
There is, therefore, a need to strike the proper balance between disclosure and conceaF
ment of one's sALN, whether a public oficial or a private ciuzen
. ln his statement last Monday, presidentiat spokesman panelo said House Resolution 2462
in- requiring.the entile Houseto give its plenary approvalfor the release of any congressman.s
SALN, may be violating - or may be close to violating - the ConstiMion. Requiring the Houset
plenary approval for one congressmanb SALN may indeed be too much of a requirement.
It does go against President Duterte's avowed policy of openness and transparency in
government. poge g