Deadline of SALN filing extended anew
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has extended the deadline for the filing of Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) for another 60 days or until Aug. 31 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
“All public officials and employees are given additional period of 60 days from June 30, 2020, the last day of filing of the SALN, or until Aug. 31, 2020, to file their SALNs with their respective departments, offices or agencies, unless the circumstances require otherwise,” the CSC said in its Memorandum
Circular 13 dated June 22.
The CSC likewise gave government offices additional 60 days or until Oct. 31 to transmit the filed SALNs of their officials and employees to the appropriate repository agencies in order to give them ample time for review.
“All heads of department, office or agency shall establish procedures for the review of the SALNs to determine whether said statements have been submitted on time, are complete and are in proper form. It shall also include the constitution of the review and compliance procedure,” the CSC memorandum read.
“The last day of submission of the SALN forms by all departments, agencies and offices to the appropriate repository agencies is extended from Aug. 31, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020.”
In an earlier memorandum, the CSC had moved the original deadline of the filing of SALNs from April 30 to June 30 and the submission to repository agencies from June 30 to Aug. 31 after the entire country was placed under quarantine due to the COVID-19 crisis.
In its new memorandum, the CSC said the filing of SALNs, including the mandatory oath-taking, may now be done online.
“The online filing or transmission of a duly executed SALN shall be allowed... The department, office or agency concerned shall put in place processes and mechanisms to enable or allow online oathtaking of the SALN and the electronic filing of the SALN, and to ensure that the SALN electronically filed are verifiable and authentic,” the CSC memorandum read.
For the online oath-taking, the CSC said the declarant and the administering officer may meet through electronic communication channels such as WebEx, Zoom or Skype.
“The administering officer is required to record and submit a list of online oath-taking he/she administered together with a certification that the names appearing on the list took their oath before him/her through electronic meeting. The list shall be submitted to the human resource department/office within five days from the last day of filing of SALNs for recording purposes,” the CSC added.
In turn, the CSC said the declarant may submit online, such as through electronic mail, his or her “duly executed SALN” to the concerned department, office or agency.
“A ‘duly executed SALN’ refers to a SALN that is personally signed under oath before an administering officer or notary public, or executed through online oath-taking,” the CSC added.
The agency reminded government officials and employees that SALNs to be filed online must be in portable document format or PDF.
“Submission of electronic SALNs shall be deemed substantial compliance for the year 2020,” the CSC said.
It added that the government offices may then transmit the filed SALNs to the appropriate repository agency either “physically” or “electronically.”