MANILA, Philippines – The filing of Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) for public employees and officials has been extend again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
CSC’s Memorandum Circular No. 13, signed by Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala, said that the new deadline is on August 31, or at least 60 days after the initial June 30 deadline.
“All public officials and employees are given additional period of sixty (60) days from June 30, 2020, the last day of filing of the SALN, or until August 31, 2020, to file their SALN with their respective departments, offices, or agencies, unless the circumstances require otherwise,” the memorandum dated Monday said.
Aside from this, online oath taking and filing are allowed online, to promote stay-at-home policies and distancing protocols placed due to the health crisis.
To do this, the administering of a person who declares his or her SALN can meet through a virtual meeting through video conferencing, which allows the individual to communicate simultaneously.
“Upon collation of the SALNs, the concerned department, office or agency has the option to submit/transmit the collated SALNs with the proper repository either physically or electronically,” CSC explained.
“The concerned department, office or agency shall exercise only one option in submitting the SALNs, not a combination of both, in order to facilitate centralized recording and monitoring by repository agencies,” they added.
The SALN is a document where government employees, whether regular or under a contract service, are required to fill up their assets like properties, financial investments and businesses they own or co-own, and even their cash on banks and on hand.
Their liabilities like loans must also be indicated. These documents have been used numerous times to pin down public officials for alleged unexplained wealth, as failure to fully declare their assets and liabilities is a punishable offense, while people consider it to be a sign of corruption.
Meanwhile, consolidated SALN forms of employees shall be submitted by departments, agencies, and offices by October 31, 2020, or an additional 60 days from the previous deadline of August 31.
This extension of the SALN deadline was the second within this year, after the previous April 30 deadline was also stretched to accommodate government employees affected by the lockdown restrictions over Luzon and other areas from March to May.
As of now, the Philippines has one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the Southeast Asian region, with 33,069 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 1,212 have died while 8,910 have recovered.
Despite quarantine restrictions being lifted in various areas including Metro Manila, a lot of government offices are still not operating fully, either due to preventive measures or some offices registering coronavirus cases.