January 13, 2012 · Posted in: General

‘Do the SALN Salsa’ with PCIJ

WHY all the fuss about SALNs?

Because in the ‘Pinas, it’s more fun for Pinoys to know, as a matter of right, the true state of wealth, or the poverty or affluence, of our public officials.

To most everyone in government — justices and judges, members of Congress, Cabinet members, star-rank officers of the uniformed services, officials of the constitutional commissions, governors and mayors, etcetera — submitting SALNs is a duty under the Constitution and anti-graft laws.

Compliance means they take three steps. One, file SALNs every year within the April 30 deadline. Two, file honest and complete details. And three, disclose promptly all their assets, liabilities, net worth, business interests, financial connections, and relatives in government — in their SALNs. In short, release their SALNs!

Discombobulating details? Let’s put our hands and heads together to decipher the secrets of SALNs. Do the SALN Salsa with PCIJ!

Understanding SALNs has become an imperative for citizens and journalists as the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona opens next week in the Senate. The second article of impeachment – culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of the public trust — derives from Corona’s failure to disclose his SALNs to the public.

In the next two Fridays, Jan. 20 and 27, we will conduct two briefing sessions — “Do the SALN Salsa with PCIJ!” — for reporters, editors, and members of the Right to Know Right Now! Coalition. We thought we may discuss:

• What data should SALNs offer?
• How could we make sense of such data?
• How should public officials file, file honestly, and disclose SALNs?
• And whyever should we care about SALNs?

It’s a date then: Jan. 20 and 27, from 10 a.m. to 12 nn at the PCIJ office, 3rd Floor, Criselda Building II, 107 Scout De Guia Street, Barangay Sacred Heart, Quezon City.

Attendance is free, just BYOB (bring your own baon). And due to space constraints, we could accommodate at most 20 persons per session. That means the first 40 people who will sign up are in.

Interested? Move mail with the following information to training@pcij.org:

Name:
Organization/Agency:
Designation:
Mobile number and landline:
Email address:
Preferred session date:

3 Responses to ‘Do the SALN Salsa’ with PCIJ

Pedro Albea

January 17th, 2012 at 10:46 pm

The SALN is the only gauge or tool thagt measures the wealth of public officials in order to determine if they are honest or corrupt and have acquired wealth or assets beyond their earning capacity less living and ordinary expenses. The SALN should be reviewed every year by persons who has no knowledge or relationship whatsoever with the public official. Upon detemination beyond reasonable doubt that the public official is corrupt the said public official should be banned from punblic service and his assets considered in excess of his legitimate earnings should be forefeited in favor of the government.