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After attempts to block Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla‘s appointment as the 7th ombudsman, Duterte allies now have concerns that Remulla’s move to allow public access to officials’ Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) might target Vice President Sara Duterte.
In one of his first orders as the 7th ombudsman, Remulla issued a memorandum that allows public access to SALNs. This effectively overturns the rule of his predecessor Samuel Martires — a Duterte appointee — who restricted access to these public documents.
“This decision is guided by a simple principle: the public has a legitimate right to know how those in government acquire and manage their wealth. Transparency in this area is not a slogan — it is a safeguard against corruption and a deterrent to abuse of power,” the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement on Tuesday, October 14.
“This step is not about politics — it is about accountability. The public deserves proof, not promises, that integrity still has a place in public service,” it added.
As the ombudsman, Remulla heads a powerful and independent constitutional body tasked to fight corruption. The ombudsman has the mandate to fire, suspend, investigate, and file criminal cases against erring government officials and employees.
Part of this anti-corruption mandate is to ensure transparency, so traditionally, former ombudsmen allowed access to SALNs under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Ombudsman.
SALNs contain the summary of government officials’ and employees’ assets and properties, making them vital documents used to monitor public servants’ wealth. This is also used to spot possible red flags in the properties of government officials and employees, and to ensure that they are living within their means.
The annual submission of these documents is mandated by section 17, article XI of the 1987 Constitution, as well as Republic Act (RA) No. 6713 or Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
How can SALNs be accessed now?
Not all SALNs are submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman as these declarations are sent to the government branches that have jurisdiction over the offices of public servants (e.g., lawmakers submit their SALNs to Congress).
SALNs available in the Ombudsman’s national office include those of the president, vice president, and heads of constitutional bodies. SALNs of regional and local officials and employees are also available at the Deputy Ombudsman in their respective regions.
Remulla’s memorandum states that all SALNs under his office — including its area and sectoral offices — may be accessed by the public.
“[SALNs] shall be accessible and made available to the public for inspection and reproduction during reasonable hours of working days, subject to the reasonable limitations and procedural safeguards herein provided which are intended to prevent any abuse of the right to information and to
protect the right to privacy of declarants,” the memorandum reads.
SALN request forms may be filed with any of the Ombudsman’s Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office (PACPO) or any Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Bureau (PACPB) at the area or sectoral offices.
Request for SALNs could be denied for any of the following reasons:
- The ombudsman is not the official repository
- The requested SALN is not on file
- The request is for an unauthorized commercial purpose
- The requesting party has a derogatory record of misuse
- The request is linked to a pending case to influence or harass
- There is evidence of extortion or safety threats
- The identity of the requesting party is fictitious
- The purpose is contrary to law, morals, or public policy
Similar to what Remulla said prior to his appointment, the Office of the Ombudsman has introduced a new rule where some information will be redacted from the SALNs for privacy and security purposes. These include:
- Complete address of the declarant
- Names, dates of birth, and ages of unmarried children below 18 years old living under the declarant’s care
- Signatures
- Government-issued identification number of the declarant and co-declarant
“The Office also calls on all agencies that keep official copies of SALNs — the Civil Service Commission, the Office of the President, Congress, the Judiciary, and local government units — to align their practices with this policy. Consistency across institutions is key; selective transparency only breeds suspicion,” the Ombudsman said.
SALNs and the media
Remulla’s new SALN rules now require the requesting parties who will publish or broadcast the SALNs to submit a copy of their reports to the constitutional body.
“Any requesting party who publishes, broadcasts, or otherwise publicly disseminates any output (including but not limited to news articles, television segments, online posts, or research papers) derived from the obtained SALN, including any subsequent republication, edited version, or update of such output, shall submit a copy or accessible link of each such output to the Office of the Ombudsman through the same PACPO or PACPB where the original request was filed,” the order says.
The Ombudsman “may utilize submitted outputs for the following purposes, consistent with its role of monitoring the use of public information and preventing misuse” or “to initiate an investigation if the output indicates potential misuse, misrepresentation, or a violation of the requesting party’s undertaking.”
“Gusto ko ‘yong output na gagawin ‘nyo, may kopya kami para alam namin na nagamit ‘yong research na mabuti, unang-una. Pangalawa, kung mayroong useful diyan sa Ombudsman, gagamitin namin,” Remulla told reporters on October 10. (What I want is to have copies of your outputs to check if the research was put to good use, firstly. Secondly, if something is useful for the Ombudsman, we will use them.)
The same provisions and laws that mandate SALN submission state that these declarations may be accessed by the public and by the media. Journalists use SALNs as leads for reports and investigations, if not support for initial findings.
Article XI, section 17 states that “declaration (SALN) shall be disclosed to the public in the manner
provided by law,” while RA No. 6713’s Section 8(d) allows access to SALNs as long as it’s for “news and communications media for dissemination to the general public.”
This is on top of Article III, Section 7 that says: “Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.”
Despite these legal bases, the public is still kept in the dark regarding SALNs. Not all offices allowed access to these declarations, so journalists ran to the Ombudsman to access certain SALNs.
Former ombudsmen like Conchita Carpio Morales gave away SALNs of officials like presidents, but this practice ended under Martires. The Duterte appointee, through his Memorandum Circular No. 1 Series of 2020, restricted access to SALNs to:
- The Office of the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Office for the purpose of conducting fact-finding investigation
- The official or a duly authorized representative
- A requester acting on a court order in relation to a pending case
So, is Sara really the target?
Martires’ memorandum did not only restrict SALN access, but also shielded former president Duterte. As early as 2018, or the year of his appointment, Martires stopped giving access to SALNs, and his 2020 memorandum just made it official.
In 2019, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism said it was “the first time in the last 30 years that a President has not released his or her SALN,” referring to Duterte. His last public SALN was his 2017 declaration published in 2018.
At the end of his term, the former president’s wealth remained a secret, thanks to Martires’ SALN rule.
Remulla said he will allow access even to the SALNs of the former and incumbent president. As far as his memorandum is concerned, the Ombudsman may also publicize the Vice President’s SALN, along with all the SALNs under the office’s repository.
“Public information naman ‘yang hinahanap-hanap natin (We are seeking public information). When we talk about transparency, let’s go all the way,” the Ombudsman said on October 10.
For the Vice President, who said that she would not appoint Remulla if she was the president, declared that she’s open to scrutiny.
“Huwag na niya silipin. Ilagay na niya sa harap niya at pag-aralan na niya nang maayos kung anuman ‘yong gusto niyang gawin. Ipagpasa-Diyos na lang natin siya at ang kanyang mga gagawin bilang Ombudsman,” Duterte said in an interview last week.
(He should not look into it. Bring it to the front and he should study well whatever he wants to do with it. I am leaving him up to God and whatever he does as Ombudsman.)
The Duterte camp’s concern comes from the fact that Remulla is an appointee of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is no longer on friendly terms with the Dutertes. Remulla, as the Department of Justice chief, was also among the Marcos officials who allowed the International Criminal Court’s arrest of the former president.
Remulla’s investigative powers also extend even to the Vice President herself. This may explain why Senator Imee Marcos and acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte had previously blocked Remulla’s ombudsman bid.
Will the new Ombudsman target the Dutertes and their allies?
Remulla declared on October 7: “When I became DOJ secretary, the first thing I removed was the weaponization of the law. I guarantee everyone that won’t happen under my watch. This office will serve the entire Philippines, not any single political camp. So, there will be no sacred cows.” – Rappler.com
