Those who want Duterte's SALN may write his office -- Roque

Will President Duterte’s recent Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) ever see the light of day? 

Malacañang has advised those seeking access to the President's SALN to send a letter to his office apparently to get his consent following the new rules set by the Office of the Ombudsman.

"Well if that is what the Ombudsman said, I advise you to comply with it," Roque said during a Palace press briefing on the possibility of writing to the President’s office to get his approval to release the document. 

Roque however deferred to the Ombudsman's office to decide on the release of such document once certain conditions are met. "We leave that to the Office of the Ombudsman which is a constitutional body tasked with implementation of our laws relating to public officers," he said.

The Office of the Ombudsman recently imposed tighter rules on the access to SALN of public officials, particularly limiting the release of such document to the declarant and government investigators.

Under the Ombudsman's Memorandum Circular No. 1 dated September 1, a copy of the SALN will be released to the requester if he/she is the declarant or duly authorized representative of the declarant; if it is upon the order of the court in relation to a pending case; and if the request is made by the Office of the Ombudsman’s field investigation office for the purpose of a fact-finding investigation. Any request to inspect or take picture of the SALN will also be denied, according to the Ombudsman.

Prior to the new Ombudsman's rules,  the President's SALN in 2018 and 2019 were not released to the public despite requests from journalists to disclose the public document for transparency and accountability.  In his 2017 SALN, the President's net worth reached P28.5 million, higher by P4 million since he assumed office in June 2016.

Roque denied that the Ombudsman's stringent guidelines on the SALN release contradicts the administration's policy of transparency.

"Hindi naman po siguro dahil may bago pong guidelines na sinusunod ang Office of the Ombudsman, siguro naman po dahil co-equal—hindi naman co-equal kung hindi constitutional body iyong Ombudsman ay dapat naman sundin natin iyong kanilang mga guidelines. (Not really because there are guidelines implemented by the Office of the Ombudsman which is a constitutional body, we must follow its guidelines)," he said.