MANILA — Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla lifted restrictions on public access to the statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) of government officials.

“This decision is guided by a simple principle: the public has a legitimate right to know how those in government acquire and manage their wealth. Transparency in this area is not a slogan – it is a safeguard against corruption and a deterrent to abuse of power,” the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement.

Under Memorandum Circular 3, SALNs filed with the Ombudsman will be available for public inspection and reproduction after they have been processed and recorded, no earlier than 10 working days following the final submission deadline from all government agencies.

Requests for SALN copies may be filed with any Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office (PACPO) at the Ombudsman Central Office or any Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Bureau (PACPB) in area or sectoral offices.

The memorandum also allows lifestyle checks on public officers, enabling a requesting party with evidence of assets disproportionate to a public officer’s income to file a formal complaint with the Ombudsman Field Investigation Office (FIO) in writing.

Requests will be granted unless the SALN is not on file; the request is for unauthorized commercial purposes; the requester has a record of misuse; the request is linked to a pending case to influence or harass; there is evidence of extortion or safety threats; the requester’s identity is fictitious; or the purpose is contrary to law, morals, or public policy.

Certain information will be redacted from released SALNs, including the declarant’s complete home address, details of children living in the household, the declarant’s signature, and government-issued ID numbers of the declarant and co-declarant.

Requesting parties must agree to an undertaking to share any output, such as news reports derived from the SALN. Copies or links of published outputs must be submitted within five days for monitoring, record-keeping, and verification purposes, and to allow investigation in case of misuse or violation of the undertaking.

The circular takes effect 15 days after publication. (PNA)