Sen. Robin Padilla Writes to Senate Secretary for “Full Disclosure” of his SALN
ROBIN PADILLA – The Senator denied that he is allegedly trying to get attention through disclosing his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth or SALN to the public.
Government officials are required to submit and update their SALN. The Ombudsman is the repository of the SALNs of the president, the vice president, the heads of the Constitutional Offices, as well as the officials of the local government units. Recently, the sitting Ombudsman made a change in the public access to these documents that detail the wealth and liabilities of the public officials.
Ombudsman Boying Remulla restored the public access to the SALNs of the government officials. His office issued a memorandum that reversed the circular that was released during the term of former Ombudsman Samuel Martires in 2020. Then, a consent of the owner of the SALN that is being requested is required before the release of the document.
With the recent development on the public access towards the SALN of government officials, there is no longer a need for the consent of the owner of the SALN. The requester just have to present an ID to secure his/her identity. Recently, Senator Robin Padilla made a move in line with his SALN.
Based on a report on GMA News, Sen. Robin Padilla sent a letter to Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. to release his SALN to the public following the scraping of the restrictions on the SALNs that are within the repository of the Ombudsman.
“Ako po ay sumusulat sa inyo upang ipahayag ang aking kusang-loob na pagbibigay ng waiver o pahintulot sa anumang aksyon o proseso kaugnay ng full disclosure ng aking Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) alinsunod sa umiiral na batas tulad ng Republic Act No. 1073 o Data Privacy Act, iba pang patakaran, at alituntunin ng pamahalaan,” the Senator stated in his letter to the Senate Secretary.
Based on the report, Sen. Robin Padilla also affirmed in his letter to Senate Sec. Renato Bantug Jr. that he understands the provisions of the Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. According to him, he joins the essence of full disclosure and honesty based on the principle embedded in the Philippine Constitution that “Public office is a public trust”.
“Bilang isang lingkod-bayan, buong-puso kong isinusumite aking sarili sa pagsisiyasat ng sambayanan,” he wrote.
However, amid his move to disclose his SALN, there are seemingly criticisms against it that urged Sen. Robin Padilla to clarify that he is not trying to get attention through the disclosure of his SALN. According to him, it is a form of walking the talk for him citing that he leads the Senate Committee on Public Information.
“Nagpapansin po? Hindi po! Ako po kasi ang pinuno po ng komite ng public information na siyang nagsusulong po ng Freedom of INFORMATION po,kaya po ang paglabas ng SALN ko po ay pagsasagawa po ng isinusulong ko po.Walk the Talk po,” the Senator said in his post.
Padilla is one of the known Duterte-allies in the Senate and he previously admitted it. Amid the ongoing detention of the former President in The Hague, Sen. Robin Padilla clarified that no one from the Duterte camp said that former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte should not be held accountable if he committed a crime.