Filipinos do not deserve an Ombudsman and a member of Congress who do not read and understand the Constitution and the laws
Last September 20, an online news platform revealed the Office of Ombudsman, headed by the elderly Samuel Martires, claims there is no law mandating the submission by government officials of their annual statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
Manila Representative Bienvenido Abante Jr. shares that view.
Martires and Abante are completely mistaken. There are laws mandating public officers and employees to submit their annual SALN.
Section 17, Article XI of the Constitution, the fundamental law of the land, expressly mandates the submission of the annual SALN.
When Martires and Abante assumed their respective offices, they took an oath to defend the Constitution. Maybe they forgot what the Constitution states, or they didn’t read the Constitution at all.
There is also Section 7 of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which likewise requires the submission of the annual SALN. This law took effect in 1960.
Finally, there is Section 8(a) of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officers and Employees. This law, which took effect in 1989, also requires the submission of the annual SALN.
The historical record further indicates that Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona and de facto Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno were ousted from office for, among others, their failure to comply with the SALN submission requirement under the applicable laws.
What then is the basis for Martires and Abante to say there is no law which requires the annual submission of the SALN of public officials and employees?
Ironically for Martires, Republic Acts 3019 and 6713 are officially posted on the website of the Office of the Ombudsman.
The 74-year old Martires has been in government service since 1976, and remains in government service today. Therefore, Martires was and continues to be covered by the laws requiring the annual submission of SALNs to the government.
Is Martires saying he did not submit any SALN during his entire stint in government?
If he did not, Martires has no legal or moral authority to stay in office as Ombudsman. He should step down from office immediately, before he gets impeached and ousted from office by Congress.
Martires can also be questioned for gross ignorance of the law for his grossly erroneous statements.
This is not the first controversy for Martires as Ombudsman.
Upon his appointment as Ombudsman in August 2019, Martires announced he will make “religious education” and “values formation” the essential focus of his office, instead of its mandated duty to investigate and prosecute government officials accused of crimes, particularly graft and corruption.
The news media slammed Martires for that statement, which not only smacks of abandonment of his express duties as Ombudsman, but also hints at a violation of the Constitutionally mandated separation of Church and State.
As a retired justice of the Supreme Court (he served for a little more than one year), Martires should have been more circumspect in his public statements.
Martires also issued Memorandum Circular 1 which prohibits the public and the press from accessing the SALN of a government official without the prior consent of the government official concerned, in the form of a notarized authorization.
In doing so, Martires seemed completely unaware the SALN is a public document designed by the Constitution and by the law to keep the finances of government officials transparent enough, and thus discourage them from amassing illegal wealth.
Besides, what corrupt government official in his right mind will issue a notarized authorization for the public scrutiny of his SALN?
Laws should not be construed to lead to an absurdity, and yet Martires’ construction of the law leads to the absurdity of protecting public officials from public scrutiny, in violation of the Constitutional policy of public accountability and full public disclosure and transparency in government.
Representative Abante is not a lawyer, but that fact does not excuse him for his patently false public statement on a matter involving intense public interest.
The 72-year old Abante has been a Manila politician since 1992 and he must have filed his SALN during that period.
If he didn’t, then Abante should be charged with violating Republic Acts 3019 and 6713.
Martires should either retire or take a refresher course in law school.
Abante should take time to read and understand the Constitution before making erroneous statements about legal matters.
Filipinos do not deserve an Ombudsman and a member of Congress who do not read and understand the Constitution and the laws.