Joannamarie Tuatis
Statement of the Senate on its rules on the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, signed by Senate Secretary Atty. Renato Bantug Jr.
The Senate has detailed the procedures for accessing the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) of present senators, in which access to more detailed information would require a notarized request.
On a statement released on Monday, October 20, Senate Secretary Atty. Renato Bantug Jr. wrote that this ensures that the request is legitimate and not intended for prohibited uses under Republic Act No. 6713.
They also emphasized that sensitive personal data, including home address, signatures, identification numbers and information involving minor children, will be redacted to protect the privacy and safety of public officials and the families.
“Such additional information shall be released with the concurrence of the concerned Senator, subject to existing regulations on data privacy,” the statement read.
In line with the transparency measure and data privacy regulation, all requests for SALNs will be governed by Policy Order 2019-001, which authorizes the release of approved SALN summary on the Senate’s official website.
The statement comes after the Ombudsman's decision to restore public access to SALN's and called for other parts of the government to do the same in an effort to uphold transparency in the government.
