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The decision of the Ombudsman, Samuel Martires, to limit public access to the financial statements of government officials, conflicts with the constitutional principle of accountability and transparency of public officials, his predecessor said on Thursday.
“It goes against the constitutional principle that public office is a public trust,” said former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales in a television interview. “There is this law [that] it orders the presentation of SALN (statements of assets, liabilities and net worth) and also orders that the public have the right to even a photocopy of the SALN of public officials or employees as long as they do not cross the prohibited acts.
Morales was asked to comment on the guidelines issued by Mártires on September 1 that limit the delivery of copies of the financial statements to the representatives of the officials who had made the statements, compliance with court orders for pending cases, or investigators from the Ombudsman for investigative investigations. .
Spirit of the law
“It does not comply with the spirit of the law, which [says] that public office is a public trust and therefore one is supposed to be transparent, ”Morales said.
He was referring to the Republic’s Law No. 6713, Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which requires people in government to declare their finances and reveal their business interests and financial connections.
The law requires that all documents submitted pursuant to it “be available for inspection at reasonable hours.”
However, it is illegal to use the documents for any purpose that goes against morality or public order and for commercial purposes.
During a congressional hearing on his office’s proposed budget for 2021 on Tuesday, Martires defended his decision, saying financial disclosures were being “armed” against politicians.
Morales, however, said that financial disclosure as a weapon should be the “concern of the politician.”
“If he (Mártires) believes that a SALN request is being armed by enemies of the politician whose SALN is being requested, then that is the politician’s concern. But no one can reject anyone’s request to use or copy a SALN as long as it is not contrary to morality or public policy, ”Morales said.
Appeal of public officials
“Now, if it turns out that the person who requested [the SALN] uses it against morals or public order, the [official] whose SALN was requested has a remedy ”, he added.
The official, he said, may press charges against the applicant.
“Application[e]r, if you are guilty … you may be fined … not more than P25,000. Therefore, it is the politician’s concern to blame the applicant if the requested SALN is [used] against morals or public policies, ”Morales said.
When asked if Mártires’ new policy is aimed at protecting the interest of politicians more than the interest of the public, Morales replied: “No, I don’t think so. I won’t take it [in] that light … He has his own motivations in issuing that memo, but anyone can read or misinterpret a law. So you probably misread the law. Sorry to say that, Martyrs Ombudsman. “
The memorandum issued by Mártires on September 1 covers the President, the Vice President, the heads of the constitutional offices and the Ombudsman and their deputies.
Regional officials of national agencies, constitutional courts and offices, state universities, elected local government officials and local government employees, and law enforcement officials below a certain rank are also covered. —WITH A REPORT FROM CHRISTIA MARIE RAMOS
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