Ombudsman wants prison sentence for detractors of SALN

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DIFFICULT VS DISCLOSURE Ombudsman Samuel Martires (top right screen) faces the House Appropriations Committee hearing on his agency’s 2022 budget on Thursday. HOME SCREEN

Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Thursday called for stiff penalties, including a five-year jail term, against anyone who comments on the asset, liability and net worth (SALN) statements of government officials and employees, claiming that these public documents were militarized to destroy people’s reputations.

Martires made the remarks during a hearing on the 2022 peso 3.967 billion budget proposal for the ombudsman’s office after Bayan Muna representative Carlos Isagani Zarate asked him when he would release President Dutertes SALN.

I wonder why are we so interested in the President and Vice President SALNs? Why aren’t we interested in SALNs from other government officials? said Martires.

Martires, who retired early from the Supreme Court to succeed ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales three years ago, said Republic Law No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for officials and employees, should be amended to tighten restrictions on the SALN. .

He said the provisions of RA 6713 were very clear that SALNs were for publication only and not for comment.

So what I am proposing is to impose stiff penalties that anyone who makes a comment on the SALN of a particular government official or employee must also face at least one jail term. at least five years. No more, no less, he told lawmakers.

Restricted release

In September 2020, Martires published Circular No.1, restricting the release of SALNs. He only ordered their release if the request was made by the representative of the government or his official representative who had made it; whether it is legally ordered by the court in a pending case; and whether it is carried out through the field investigation office of the Ombudsman’s Office for the purpose of investigating the facts.

In the absence of compliance with any of these provisions, we are not going to release the SALN, no matter how many criticisms I will receive, even if I will be blasted, even if I will be removed from my post, he said. it stated in the budget panel hearing.

Mr. Duterte has not made his SALN public since 2018.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque has repeatedly said that it is up to the mediator to release the SALN presidents.

What the media don’t know

But Martires has always refused requests from journalists and lawyers for copies of the document.

He insisted that RA 6713 even forbids journalists from commenting on SALNs.

That’s what the media don’t know, he said.

But article 8 of the said law stipulates that the public has the right to know the SALNs of public officials and employees, including their financial and commercial interests.

Section 8 (C) (4) of the same SALN Disclosure Act states that [a]Any declaration filed under this law is accessible to the public for a period of ten (10) years from receipt of the declaration.

Zarate, a deputy minority leader, questioned the ombudsman’s proposal, which received no support from a dozen House members who attended the budget hearing.

Isn’t it dangerous to penalize our people if they ask questions because freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Constitution and also the principle of transparency and accountability? he said.

Attack on freedom of expression

In a statement, Gabriela’s representative, Arlene Brosas, lambasted Martires’ decision to criminalize comments on SALNs by public officials.

Any attempt to cut free speech about the wealth of public officials is a direct attack on free speech and a measure to protect serving officials from public scrutiny, she said.

The Ombudsman should stop bowing to the narrow interests of senior officials to preserve their reputation, Brosas said. It should act in accordance with its constitutional mandate to maintain transparency and the efficient use of public funds.

But Martires insisted that while SALNs can be published, no one should be allowed to comment on the SALN of a particular government official or employee.

He recalled having been the victim of unfair reports on his SALN in 2018.

It was reported that his wealth increased by 15.3 million pesos during his first five months as an ombudsman. He did not respond to investigators’ request to explain the changes in his SALN at the time. He then told reporters that much of the money came from pensions and other Supreme Court benefits.

Ready to lose his job

Martires told lawmakers he would maintain his September 2020 circular even if it cost him his job.

He said that while he was not going to release the SALN Presidents, he assured the public that Mr Duterte was submitting his SALN to the mediator until 2020.

Martires said he would not give in to public opinion, adding that giving in to public opinion was not part of my job description.

I am ready to be removed from my post to defend the circular memorandum that I issued, he said.

I really don’t know what the purpose of those people asking for SALN for the President, in particular, and the Vice President is. What is in these offices? Are only the president and vice president capable of corruption? Doesn’t corruption start at the grassroots, in the ranks of the employees? he said.

Over the years, however, senior officials have been among those found and prosecuted for corruption, including in one of the largest such cases in the country, the P 10 billion pork barrel scam. while Martires was still a judge in the Sandiganbayan.

Marcos wealth case

Larger cases of ill-gotten wealthThe Marcos family’s hidden wealth involved the country’s top official.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government reported in 2017 that it had recovered at least 171.359 billion pesos from Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth following lawsuits in the Sandiganbayan.

Martires, who previously drafted a Sandiganbayan ruling dismissing corruption charges against Mr Duterte and five other Davao city officials, is the president’s fraternity brother at the University of San Beda College of Law and his first person appointed to the Supreme Court.

Martires took up his duties as associate judge in March 2017, but resigned about six months before reaching retirement age in July 2018, and was appointed to succeed Morales as mediator. WITH A REPORT BY PATRICIA DENISE M. CHIU

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