Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Thursday reminded government officials and employees to file their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth on or before April 30, 2018.
Morales said the filing of SALNs is a constitutional obligation of every public servant, and failure to do so will result in administrative penalty.
The law provides that failure to file or submission of inaccurate SALNs is punishable by suspension of one to six months for the first offense, and dismissal from service for the second offense, which eventually may lead to forfeiture of ill-gotten or unexplained wealth.
The SALN is a declaration under oath of assets (i.e., lands, houses, cash, etc), liabilities (i.e., personal or institutional loans), and business and financial interests, of a government official or employee, of the spouse, and of unmarried children under 18 years old still living in their parents’ household.
It includes a waiver authorizing the Ombudsman or her authorized representative to obtain and secure documents that may show assets, liabilities, net worth, business interests, and financial connections from all appropriate government agencies for investigatory purposes.
Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officials and Employees) provides that the submission of SALNs must be made within 30 days after assumption of office; on or before April 30 of every year thereafter; and within 30 days after separation from the service.
The SALNs of the president, the vice president, chairmen and commissioners of constitutional commissions and offices, the Ombudsman and the Deputies, officials and employees of departments, bureaus, agencies, including government-owned- and-controlled corporations with and without charter and their subsidiaries, state universities and colleges, and local government units, the offices of which are located in the National Capital Region, are submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman (Central Office).
The SALNs of regional officials and employees of the department, bureaus and agencies of the national government, judiciary, constitutional commissions and offices, GOCCs and their subsidiaries, and state colleges and universities; provincial elective officials and employees including governors, vice governors, and members of Sangguniang Panlalawigan, city and municipal elective officials and employees including mayors, vice mayors, members of the Sangguniang Panglungsod/Bayan and barangay officials; officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines below the rank of colonel or captain and other enlisted officers; officers of the Philippine National Police below the rank of senior superintendent and other police officers; officers of the Philippine Coast Guard below the rank of Commodore are submitted to the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman in their respective area offices.
Similarly, Ombudsman Circular 2 (series of 2017) mandates the Human Resource Management Office of each covered agency and instrumentality of the government, pending the full implementation of the electronic SALN program, to submit to the concerned Ombudsman office the electronic copies along with the hard copies of the SALNs on or before June 30 of every year.
In May 2013, the Ombudsman signed a memorandum of agreement with the World Bank for the project, dubbed as “Enhancing the Income and Asset Declaration System." The project aims to develop a digital-based online system for the bureaucracy-wide filing of SALNs.
The Ombudsman, in cooperation with the Civil Service Commission launched the eSALN system in May 2016.
Under the proposed e-SALN project, covered government officials and employees may access, accomplish and file the SALN over the internet using a web browser.