Tibaldo: Of public servants, and the SALN
- Published on Monday, 13 February 2012 21:47
- Category: Features
Consumer Atbp.
Monday, February 13, 2012
AS I am about to fill up my SALN document amidst the impeachment proceedings and furor amongst the most influential officials of the land, I mused at myself, a lowly public servant whether what I will write in my form will not bring me to any trouble.
Knowing that a public office is a public trust and that government officials and employees must at all times be accountable to the people they serve with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, I wonder if is un patriotic, unjust and immodest if I will reveal little extravagance in my personal data like owning over a hundred old cameras, long playing records and books.
According to the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the office that implements the constitutional and statutory provisions on public disclosure, public officials and state employees are required to file annually their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
In 2011, the CSC has revised the SALN Form with salient points as follows: It must be pointed out that the new requirements in the Revised SALN form are actually requirements under Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti -Graft and Corrupt Practices Act). (1) For husband and wife who are both in the civil service, it is important to indicate if the filing is done jointly or separately. (2) The name of unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age still living in the household should also be indicated. (3) The SALN should state true and complete declaration of assets, liabilities and net worth including disclosure of business interests and financial connections of the declarant.
On ASSETS, Assets including those within or outside of the Philippines, whether real or personal, should be declared as well as description of real properties as to the kind, nature, exact location, acquisition mode and year, assessed value, fair market value, acquisition cost of land and/or building, including improvements made.
Assets whether tangible (i.e. cash on hand, cars, appliances, jewelry, mobile phones) or intangible such as stocks, bond certificates, and the like, denominated in foreign currency shall be converted into the corresponding Philippine currency equivalent at the exchange rate prevailing as of 31 December of the preceding calendar year.
On LIABILITIES, the nature of liability and name of creditors should be indicated. The declarant must disclose the outstanding balance as of 31 December of the preceding calendar year. All sources of gross income must be disclosed. For both single and joint filing, declarant must disclose all sources of income whether derived from practice of profession, business, and the like for the preceding calendar year.
Personal and family expenses must likewise be declared. According to CSC, a new feature of the revised SALN form is the disclosure of the estimated amount of the declarant’s personal and family expenses. In case of joint filing, the declarant and his/her spouse shall declare the estimated amount of their personal and family expenses for the preceding calendar year.
When a public officer takes an oath or office, he or she binds himself or herself to faithfully perform the duties of the office and use reasonable skill and diligence, and to act primarily for the benefit of the public.
With these governing law and directives, I might as well include my volumes of books at my library, and my wife’s portrait sketched by no other than National Artist Ben Cabrera himself. My wife is not fond of glittering jewelries and I wonder if CSC is interested in looking at her beads and stone collections. As to my liabilities, I might as well include the loans that I am still repaying and deducted from my monthly salary. I realized too that if my total liabilities are higher than my assets because these are already devalued due to obsolescence, I may even end up not having a net worth at all or is it?
On the other hand, if I will declare my legacy artworks to cost about Fifty to a Hundred Thousand pesos each, then that will make me a millionaire in the databank and files of CSC
