BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and RAYMOND AFRICA
PRESIDENTIAL spokesman Harry Roque yesterday said anyone interested to see the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of President Duterte should follow procedures and make a formal request with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Roque made the statement following the call of opposition leader Vice President Leni Robredo for the President to set the example in the fight against corruption by being transparent and making public his SALN.
In September last year, the Office of the Ombudsman issued a memorandum circular saying that SALNs of public officials will not be released to the public without the concerned officials’ consent.
Roque did not say if the Office of the President has given its consent to any request for the release of Duterte’s SALN.
Duterte’s last SALN that was was made public was in 2018, when he declared a net worth of P28.54 million in 2017, up from P27.428 million in 2016.
Robredo has made her SALN available to media.
Robredo’s call came amid Duterte’s bid to stay in power following statements from Malacañang officials that he has decided to heed his supporters’ clamor to run for vice president in next year’s elections.
Meanwhile, Duterte’s long-time aide Sen. Christopher Go formally rejected an offer of the pro-Duterte faction of the ruling PDP-Laban party for him to run for president.
“As much as I wish to respond to the clamor of many of our party mates, I most respectfully decline the said endorsement. As I have said many times before, I am not interested in the presidency,” he said.
The other faction in the PDP, led by Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Emmanuel Pacquiao, has been saying that Go, if he files his certificate of candidacy for president, will later withdraw to give way to presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio who is reportedly the real presidential candidate of the pro-Duterte faction.
COMPLIANCE
Roque, on the release of Duterte’s SALN, said the stance of the Office of the President “has been clear and consistent: We leave it to the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent constitutional body…”
“Interested parties may therefore wish to write a formal communication to the Office of the Ombudsman, which has copies of SALNs of all public officials, asking for a copy of the said document,” he added.
Roque said the President has filed his SALN covering 2020 in compliance with his constitutional duty.
Under the Ombudsman’s Memorandum Circular No. 1 dated Sept. 1, 2020, “no SALN will be furnished to the requester unless he/she presents a notarized letter of authority from the declarant allowing the release of the requested SALN.”
The memorandum also says the copy of the SALN will be furnished to the requester if: he/she is the declarant or the duly authorized representative of the declarant; the request is upon lawful order of the court in relation to a pending case; and the request is made by the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Office/Bureau/Unit (FIO/FIB/FIU) for the purpose of conducting fact-finding investigation.
Malacañang has said that the President is not keeping anything from the public. Requests for the President’s SALN made through the Freedom of Information system, however, are referred to the Ombudsman which is the repository of the SALN for the president, vice president and officials of constitutional bodies.
GO DECISION
Go officially declined the offer in a letter to Energy Secretary and faction leader Alfonso Cusi.
Go said as chairman of the Senate health committee, he would rather devote his time to helping the government and Filipinos overcome the pandemic as soon as possible.
“This includes not just crafting laws but also performing representation and constituency services, particularly by helping those in need, as I have been doing ever since,” he said.
In a meeting held last August 4, the PDP-Laban Cusi-faction adopted a resolution endorsing Go as the party’s presidential candidate and President Duterte as its vice presidential bet.
In a statement made in the first week of August, Go said he was willing to run as president if Duterte agrees to be his running mate. He later changed tune and has been saying he is not interested in the presidency.
Last week, Duterte said he has agreed to be PDP-Laban’s candidate for vice president but would drop his plan if his daughter seeks the presidency next year.
Cusi said the National Executive Committee understands Go’s position “nevertheless, we are determined to endorse you as PDP Laban candidate for President of the Philippines in the coming national elections.”
SAVING THE PARTY
Ronwald Munsayac of the Pacquiao faction said they had to elect a new chairman and vice chairman to “save” the party which has been neglected by Duterte, aside from him being overstaying as party chairman.
Munsayac, PDP-Laban national executive director, said the faction’s members decided during last Sunday afternoon’s national council meeting to select a new chairman and vice chairman so the party can function normally in time for next year’s election.
Munsayac on Sunday said the party elected Pimentel as chairman vice Duterte, and former Eastern Visayas Gov. Lutgardo Barbo as vice chairman, replacing Cusi who was expelled by the Pacquiao-faction for disloyalty for reportedly supporting the presidential candidacy of a non-party member.
Munsayac the PDP-Laban headquarters sent a notice to all its officials, including Duterte, about last Sunday’s meeting, but the President did not attend.
Aside from overstaying, Munsayac said the chairman has apparently turned a deaf ear on their pleadings for him to find ways to solve the party’s problems which he said were caused mainly by the “other group” which he said has a the secret agenda of supporting the presidential bid the non-party member.
He refused to name the candidate but said the person is “from Davao.”
Munsayac said cracks in the party started when the “other group” of “political appointees” ignored other party members by holding meetings among themselves at expensive hotels and making decisions for the party.
“Ang PDP Laban iba kami, bago kami mag desisyon ay may consultation… So doon kami nag clash. Kasi sanay sila na nag-uutos lamang, hindi kami sumusunod sa utos nila, iba ang gusto namin. So, doon nag start yun. Noong una misunderstanding, ngayon kiskisan na talaga between the two groups of the party (The PDP-Laban is not like that because we make consultations before we come up with a decision… So, that’s when our clash started.
They are used to giving commands which we don not follow. That’s how the rift started. It was just a simple misunderstanding and now it is a full-blown conflict between the two groups),” Munsayac said.
