Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Friday clarified that the law governing wealth declarations of public officials and employees already contains a provision on jail time as punishment for prohibited acts.
Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Martires said his proposal of five years imprisonment for individuals found guilty of making “further commentaries” about the SALNs of government officials was consistent with Section 11 of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The prohibited acts under the law are the use of SALN for any purpose contrary to morals or public policy, or any commercial purpose other than by news and communications media for dissemination to the general public. The penalties are either a prison term of not exceeding five years or fine, or both.
In his proposal submitted to the House of Representatives, Martires said the use of SALN by news and communications media “shall be strictly limited to reporting of facts provided in the statement, and no further commentaries could be made thereon.”
“Prohibited act, ‘pag-naviolate mo ‘yan meron na nakalakip doon. Kaya nga dito kami nagkakagulo, hindi lamang sa Office of the Ombudsman,” he said when asked about the proposal.
(It’s already a prohibited act. That’s where the confusion lies, not just in the Office of the Ombudsman.)
“Wala ho kami pinapanukala… na magpakulong ng taga-media. Wala,” Martires said.
(We don’t have a proposal to imprison those in the media.)
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has objected to this proposal, saying this could reduce the media to “just stenographers of what politicians say they are worth.”
Martires also proposed that the availability and access to the SALN shall not be approved if a finding is made by the official repository of the document/s that revealing personal and sensitive information could endanger the individual who filed the SALN or his/her family member.
On Thursday, the Ombudsman said it was “very difficult” to resolve and litigate SALN cases “when there is so much in the law that are vague and open to various interpretations.”
“There are many other contentious issues in the SALN [law] – like the publication provision, its accessibility to the public, the proper repository agency, the period of retention, and the penal provisions insofar as the need to harmonize it with the SALN provisions of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft law, among others, that still need to be considered for amendment,” he said in a statement.
Martires also urged critics to lobby lawmakers “to consider their own take on the matter of how the SALN law should be read.” — VBL, GMA News
Unlawful use of SALN already punishable by imprisonment — Martires
Source: Pinoy Hub News
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