A lawyer has asked the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) to release the copies of the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte and his daughter, now Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, for the years 2007 to 2023.

Pointing out that SALNs of public officials are "matters of public concern," Atty. Dino S. de Leon, sought the release of the Dutertes' SALNS in a letter sent to Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires last June 5. 

In his letter, De Leon said if the OMB would refuse to release the SALNs of the Dutertes, he would be "constrained to seek judicial and constitutional reliefs" available to him as a citizen.

De Leon lamented what he called as "scandalous corruption of public funds" which reportedly took place during the administration of former President Duterte.

"As a citizen of the Republic, I am alarmed by these atrocious allegations on the mishandling of funds for the pandemic, especially considering that the plunder appears to have happened at a time when our country was facing a national crisis," De Leon said.

"Even more, it appears that the plunder of the Filipino people's money was ordered by [former] President Duterte himself when he authorized the unjustified transfer of P47.6 billion of funds from the Department of Health to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management," he alleged.

De Leon said he already made attempts in the past to secure the SALNs of the Dutertes. However, he said, the Ombudsman denied his request because he was not able to secure a notarized letter from the declarant themselves. 

But, De Leon said the notarized letter from the declarant is an "unreasonable requirement" that rendered "inutile" his right as a citizen to scrutinize the SALNs of public officials.

In his letter, De Leon cited Section 5 Executive Order No. 02, series of 2016, which emphasized the obligation of public officials to file and make available for scrutiny their SALNs.

He warned that "any positive action frustrating the constitutional right of citizens to access the SALNs of public officials may be considered a betrayal of public trust." 

Previously, SALNs of government officials were released to the public and members of the media just as long as they write a letter of request to the Ombudsman. 

However, on Sept. 1, 2020 Ombudsman Martires signed a memorandum circular entitled "Amended Guidelines on Public Access to SALN of Business Interests and Financial Connections Filed Within the Office of the Ombudsman."

The 2020 circular states: "No SALN will be furnished to the requester unless he/she presents a notarized letter of authority from the declarant allowing the release of the requested SALN."

"If the person requesting is not the declarant or the declarant's duly authorized representative, but has [a] notarized letter of authority from the declarant allowing [the] release of the requested SALN, he/she shall be required to present two original valid IDs, one of which is a government issued ID bearing the requester's picture and signature," the circulat also states.

Martires had earlier explained that he issued the amended guidelines "pursuant to the provisions of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees."