Sotto Tells Duterte To Lead By Example And Be Transparent With SALN
DUTERTE SALN – Senate President Vicente Sotto III told President Duterte to be transparent with his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN).
Among the things critics want from Duterte is his illusive SALN. Previously, a group of lawyers attempted to secure a copy of the President’s SALN, a supposedly public document.
However, Ombudsman Samuel Marites, an appointee of Duterte, created a mandate saying only gov’t officials themselves can release the SALN to the public. As such, many lawmakers expressed that the mandate was unconstitutional.
Yesterday, Duterte’s acting spokesperson, Karlo Nograles, said the President “may release” his SALN to the public if he wins a spot in the 2022 Senatorial elections. Meanwhile, Sotto urged Duterte to lead by example.
According to an article from Inquirer, Sotto said:
“He is the president. The people expect transparency in their leaders“.
Similarly, Vice President Leni Robredo expressed the same sentiment as Sotto. But, when asked for her SALN, Robredo, without hesitation, released it to the public.
The last time the public saw Duterte’s SALN was in 2018. During this time, Duterte declared that he had a net worth of P28.5 million as of December 2017.
Furthermore, Sotto stated that a huge issue with wanting a copy of an official’s SALN is the ombudsman. He said that because of the new law, candidates who are compelled to publish their SALN would get shut down by the Supreme Court.
If we say all candidates have to file their SALN, if somebody questions that, the SC already has jurisprudence. The Supreme Court will call it unconstitutional, said Sotto.
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