Deadline for government employees to submit statements of assets, liabilities

ALL GOVERNMENT employees are required to submit their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) today, April 30, the Office of the Ombudsman announced yesterday.

Exact addresses of all their real property assets should be indicated in their submissions, the Ombudsman said, adding that the requirement is “both a constitutional and statutory obligation of every public servant,” and that penalties of suspension or even dismissal of service await those who fail to comply.

The filing of SALNs is considered mandatory for all publicly employed individuals, including rank-and-file employees, public school teachers, the police and military, lawmakers, and up to the President.

However, casual hires are excluded from the filing.

This year’s SALN carries the additional requirement imposed by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for public officers to indicate exact addresses of all their real property assets.

Just before CSC Chairman Francisco T. Duque III retired in February, he issued a resolution requiring complete addresses for all declared real properties.

“Declaration of real properties shall include in its description, kind, exact location, year and mode of acquisition, assessed value, fair market value, acquisition cost of land, building, etc., in- cluding improvements thereon,” the revised SALN guideline of the CSC reads.

“The commission also recognizes the need to clarify the required disclosure of real property with regard to its location.”

In previous years, placing cities or provinces as the location of lots and houses in the SALN sufficed.

An official of the anti-graft unit confirmed that the new rule will be in place starting this year.

“Yes, ( it is) in effect. We require that exact addresses down to house and street number be included sa SALN,” Mary Rawnsle V. Lopez, acting director of the Ombudsman’s public information and media relations bureau, said in a text message.

Ms. Lopez added that the additional rule jives with the anti- graft unit’s move to “strengthen lifestyle checks” and investigations among government officials.

Besides real property, assets such as investments, cash on hand and in bank, shares of stock, and business interests must be disclosed by a public official, including those under the names of their spouses and of their unmarried children.

In 2012, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona was removed from office for misdeclaring his SALN after admitting the exclusion of several assets before the Senate. —