WEDNEsDAY FEBRUARY6,
2019 I
SALN rules impair tra
By Maton Ramos-Araneta
THE House ofRepresentativ€s' move to re-
strict public access to the Statemenl ofAssets,
Liabilities and Net Worth of lawmakers is a
setback to increasing transparency in the.gov-
emment and potentially violates the Constitu-
tion, Senator Grace Poe said on Tiresday.
"Oneshould not fear making public the
SALN because lhat is how we derermine
the transparcncy of a particular lawmaker
or government official," Poe said.
Poe, chairmah'of the Senate commit-
tee on public information and mass media.
and sponsor ofthe Freedom oflnformation
bill. said House Resoiurion 2467 imposing
stricter rules for the public to gain access
to lawmak€xs' SALN records "could be a
violation of the Constitution" because Ar-
ticle 11, Section 1Z says every govemment
employee and official must disclose his or
her SALN.
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nsparency-Poe
"We have inter-parliamentary courksy
but it's a bit ridiculous. .. to take it up like a
law that you rced to approve it in plenary,"
Poe said when asked about her rcaction to
the House plenary approval of SALN disclo-
st[Es.
Poe said Senate President Vicente Sotto
III had already spoken that there was no
plan to tighten the rules in the Senate to
gain access to the senators' SALNS.
"They fHouse] have their own set of
rulesr It does not mean that the Senate ap-
proves ofthat. Our Senate President has al-
ready spoken, and that's not how it should
be," Poe said.
Senator Win Gatchalian believes the
SALN should be made readily available to
a person requesting it since it is part of the
Philippine culture of transparency.
If public servants had transparency, he
said, there was more leason for thgm to
have accountability to the people.