Access to the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his Cabinet officials should only be granted for “legitimate reasons,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Saturday said.
Bersamin underscored the need to also protect the privacy and security of elected and appointed officials.
“There are guidelines that must be followed. We cannot just allow the indiscriminate freedom to access these SALNs. They contain details that might compromise the safety and security of public officials,” he said.
“Our rules require that any person requesting a SALN should provide a good and legitimate reason.”
“If the reason is legitimate and we are satisfied that it is for a valid purpose, we will provide it, with redactions. That’s normally done,” Bersamin added.
Earlier, President Marcos said he will make his SALN accessible to the public as he urged his Cabinet to follow his lead in support for the order of Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla restoring full public access to the SALNs.
Mr. Marcos said he supports a return to the “old rules” that allowed the public and media easier access to SALNs before restrictions were imposed during the Duterte administration.
“We’ll follow the old rules. These old rules were suspended in the last administration. I was quite surprised to find out when I first came into office that it was almost impossible to get a copy of the SALN. We’re just going back to the old procedure,” he said.
“My SALN will be available to whoever would like to begin… If the ICI asks me, of course I will give it. If the Ombudsman asks, we will provide it,” the President said.
Under the Constitution and Republic Act 6713, all public officials are required to file annual SALNs, but a 2020 memorandum of former Ombudsman Samuel Martires restricted access to the documents by requiring the consent of public officials for disclosure.
Remulla’s office clarified that certain details such as the permanent address and information on minor children will be redacted to ensure compliance with the Data Privacy Act.
