Duterte only respecting Ombudsman guidelines on release of SALN—Palace

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is only respecting the guidelines issued by the Office of the Ombudsman on the release of his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), Malacañang said Wednesday.

“I don’t think there is a conscious effort to conceal because he has complied with it. But he is just respecting the recent guidelines issued by the Ombudsman because after all the Ombudsman is a constitutional body tasked with promoting accountability amongst public officers,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview over CNN Philippines.

READ: Duterte not keeping anything from public despite non-release of SALN – Palace

“So, all he’s saying is let’s respect the guidelines issued by the Ombudsman and comply with those guidelines,” he added.

The Ombudsman recently issued new guidelines limiting who can request copies of a government official’s SALN.

Under the new guidelines, SALNs would only be released in three situations:

• if the declarant, meaning the government official who filed it and his or her official representative made a request;

• if it is legally ordered by the court in relation to a pending case

• if the request is made through the Office of the Ombudsman’s field investigation office for the purpose of a fact-finding probe

Roque said he will bring up the issue to Duterte in their meeting scheduled for Thursday.

The President’s SALNs for 2018 and 2019 have yet to be made public.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism said it is the first time in the last 30 years that a President has not released his or her SALN.

READ: Duterte’s 2018 SALN still unreleased 8 months after deadline – PCIJ 

/MUF