Tugade orders DOTr officials to submit SALNs to anti-corruption task force

MANILA, Philippines — Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has ordered all the heads of agencies under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and other officials to submit their individual Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net worth (SALN) to the anti-corruption task force led by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In a statement from DOTr on Sunday, Tugade said his directive includes the officials’ chief-of-staff, secretaries, executive assistants, and those involved in project management and procurement.

He said he has already assigned a group and a point person who will gather and review the SALNs of all DOTr officials, including his.

“Sabi ko ikumpara ‘yun at ipakita at sabihin sa akin kung meron silang nakikitang dapat bigyang pansin (I told them to compare the SALNs and show and tell me if they see anything that must be looked into),” Tugade earlier said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay online forum.

The DOTr said Tugade has “directed the comparison of submission for 3 periods of the SALN or for 3 years to find out if there is substantial difference between the periods.”

To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the DOJ to lead a task force that will conduct an investigation into graft across all government agencies.

According to Tugade, 128 DOTr personnel have been dismissed from service for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service since his tenure at the department from 2016 until 2019. Twenty others have been relieved from their posts while 17 have been suspended.

The transportation chief also said that five employees belonging to division chief and director levels have been dismissed this year. In November alone, four employees have been preventively suspended due to an ongoing case of grave misconduct.

Tugade said these cases have been reported to Duterte.

JE