9 more senators to release SALNs

MANILA, Philippines, October 28 ------ Nine senators are set to disclose their net worth today, in accordance with the move of the Office of the Ombudsman to restore public access to government officials’ statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN). Senate Secretary Renato Bantug said the senators who have agreed to give copies of their SALNs to the press are Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Bam Aquino, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Lito Lapid, Loren Legarda, Erwin Tulfo and Joel Villanueva.

Six senators have already made their SALNs public, including Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who declared a net worth of P188.9 million, and Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros whose declared net worth was P18.986 million. Sen. Robinhood Padilla declared a P244 million net worth, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian P89.5 million and Sen. Francis Pangilinan P26.7 million. Sen. Raffy Tulfo, who is possibly among the wealthiest senators in the 20th Congress, declared that he and his wife’s net worth totaled P1.05 billion.

Meanwhile, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) will allow the filing of SALNs online starting next year, as part of its updated rules on the submission of the documents. In a press statement issued yesterday, the CSC said its Omnibus Rules on SALN were meant “to intensify the promotion of integrity and transparency in government.”

The CSC has yet to release copies of the new rules to the media or upload them on the CSC website. It said the new rules amend its more than a decade-old guidelines for the filing of SALNs under CSC Memorandum Circular No. 2, series of 2013. “These updates consolidate and streamline existing CSC policies on SALN filing, review and access – ensuring a clearer, more straightforward and more efficient process that promotes greater clarity and uniformity in implementation across government agencies,” the CSC said.

Source: philstar.com