AN OFFICIAL of the Civil Service Commission has underscored that only addresses should be shaded in government officials’ Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth or SALNs.
Lawyer Ariel Ronquillo, assistant commissioner for legal concerns, made this comment after Malacañang released SALNs of some Cabinet officials which contained redacted or blacked out portions.
Among the concealed details were properties’ locations and market value.
Malacañang, citing the Data Privacy Act, said it feared some people “may use the sensitive personal information and other data contained in the SALNs to harass people or commit fraud.”
Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella also earlier said “those working in the government, such as members of the Cabinet, still have the right to privacy.”
But Ronquillo countered this, saying the CSC maintained that officials’ SALNs should not be covered by the Data Privacy Act. After all, Ronquillo said, SALNs serve as a “form of transparency.”
Ronquillo is in charge of SALNs, according to CSC Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala.
But the CSC admitted its hands were tied and could not investigate Cabinet officials who released their SALNs which contained blacked out portions, particularly details on the location and market value of their properties.
Ronquillo admitted the CSC had no disciplinary jurisdiction over presidential appointees.
“These officials are under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Ombudsman,” said Ronquillo who was interviewed at the sidelines of his confirmation hearing by the Commission on Appointments.
In citing the Data Privacy Act, Abella said “those working in the government, such as members of the Cabinet, still have the right to privacy.”
Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan has since said that details about an official’s wealth will no longer be hidden in future SALN releases.
Ronquillo noted that SALN should not be covered by that act because it is a form of transparency.
“That was how Malacañang interpreted the issue because of the Data Privacy Act, although we have taken the position,” he said.
“So, therefore, we should not conceal details on our SALNs. We should be ready to show the people how we accumulate our wealth while we are working in the government. That’s for everyone to know that we are not using our positions to unlawfully enrich ourselves,” he said.
Based in the guidelines they issued, Ronquillo said the only thing that could be shaded on the SALN was the address of the filer. “Only that, the rest should be opened to the public.”
“In the samples that were shown, even the properties’ amounts and locations were shaded. Apparently that is not in accordance with the guidelines,” he said.
He noted that an investigation was still needed to determine who redacted the information.
If the issuing authority was the one who blacked out the data, Ronquillo said the concerned Cabinet official did not violate CSC guidelines.
“We should investigate who shaded the information… At this point, we can’t make any conclusion without…any investigation,” he added.
Senator Grace Poe said once one entered government service, the right to privacy was surrendered.
She stressed it was not justifiable for Cabinet officials to invoke the Data Privacy Act to black out certain items, including acquisition costs of properties, from their SALNs.
She said some sensitive details like addresses and personal information of an official’s children could be hidden from the record but not his or her owned properties, companies and affiliations.
On Monday, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed a resolution seeking a Senate investigation into the redactions.
Senator Sonny Angara said the amount of properties acquired should be disclosed as this was the purpose of issuing SALNs.
“I don’t think you can redact the amounts. At least under our law. I don’t know what the policy of the Executive is. I’m just speaking from the point of view of the FOI law that we have here, (I) being one of the authors,” Angara said.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the SALN law must be revisited to clarify the terms for privacy.
In the legislative branch, Drilon said they were required to release all information in their SALNs.
“This should prompt us to revisit and review the present SALN law,” he said.
The Palace itself insisted it did not commit any violations when it released “redacted” SALNs of members of President Duterte’s Cabinet, as they vowed to cooperate on a planned Senate probe investigating the matter.
“We reiterate that there were no violations committed related to the release of SALNs of some Cabinet members,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.
But he said: “The Executive would cooperate and would attend the investigation on SALNs, if and once called by the Senate. “
At the same time, Abella said in a statement: “The President respects the internal processes of the Ombudsman as an independent body and trusts its impartiality in the conduct of its fact-finding duty.”
Abella insisted that the President “has nothing to hide” anew about his wealth.
The Palace made these pronouncements after reports that the Office of the Ombudsman had started its investigations on the President’s wealth, following the plunder charges filed by Trillanes.
Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang reportedly said they had obtained certain bank transactions records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council on Duterte’s wealth since the time he was Davao mayor.
In a speech, Duterte said he was ready to resign if anyone could prove he had stashed ill-gotten wealth in Hong Kong.
Duterte once again explained that his supposed “wealth” originated from inheritance from his parents — disputing allegations he embezzled public funds to enrich himself in power.
“I live by the values [I got from my parents],” he added.
To prove his claims, Duterte authorized “everyone” to dig into the records of Insular Bank of Asia and America, now Union Bank, to assess his old bank transactions.
He also challenged critics to find evidence stating that his children are involved in smuggling.
“And I’m challenging the opposition. If it is true, in an affidavit form, or if you say that my children are into this kind of smuggling… I told you, I will not hesitate,” he added, reiterating that he would enforce the law against everybody. With John Paolo Bencito