Detail phone, grocery bills in new SALN forms

MANILA, Philippines—If you’re working for the government, better keep track of your cell phone, grocery bills and even that of toiletries.

The revised form for the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth that civil servants must file on April 30 asks them to reveal far more about their finances than the old form.

Among the things that government officials have to declare in the new SALN form are the estimated amounts of their personal and family expenses.

They also have to disclose the amount and sources of their gross income, aside from their salaries, if any. They must reveal as well the amount of income taxes they paid.

The old SALN form required civil servants to declare their assets, consisting of real, personal and other properties; liabilities, such as loans or mortgages; business interests and financial connections, and relatives in government service.

In the new form, these, and more, must be disclosed.

There has been much ado over SALNs recently in relation to the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, who has been accused of failing to disclose several assets in his SALN.

The personal expenses that government workers have to declare could include allowances for mobile phone plan, toiletries, food, clothing and travel, according to the guidelines of the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Family expenses include electricity and water bills, groceries, Internet and cable service fees, food expenses, tuition, and home mortgage payments.

The amounts do not have to be exact up to the last centavo; estimates are allowed.

CSC Chair Francisco Duque said that in declaring expenses, government employees have to provide details. They could not just declare one amount representing the estimate for personal or family expenses.

“It can’t be that generalized. There has to be some details,” Duque said over the phone.

In the new SALN form, the names of unmarried children below 18 years old and living in the household must be disclosed.

As in the old SALN form, government employees must declare their assets and liabilities, but they must include those of their spouses and unmarried children below 18.

The CSC said that assets even outside the Philippines must be declared. Civil servants must indicate as well in the SALN if their personal properties are tangible or intangible (stocks, bonds, notes, long-term contracts, and rights such as lease agreements and copyrights). As for their liabilities, the SALN form requires officials to declare the outstanding balance.

It also requires officials to indicate if they are filing the SALNs jointly or separately with their spouses.

The SALN form states that for computation purposes, the acquisition cost of the assets should be used. The properties of unmarried children below 18 years old would be excluded, as well as the exclusive properties of the spouse, if they filed their SALN separately.

Under the Uniform Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, failure to submit the SALN is punishable by a one- to six-month suspension for the first offense, and dismissal from service for the second offense.

The revision of the SALN form was done to comply with the provisions of the antigraft law. The old SALN form only conformed with the code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees.

Under the antigraft law, public officers are required to file their SALNs, including the amounts and sources of their income, the amounts of family expenses, and the amount of income taxes paid.