1987 Constitution framer says Ombudsman not��‘protector of gov’t officials’����

ONE��of��the framers of the��1987 Constitution��said on Monday that the Office of the��Ombudsman’s��role��is not to protect government officials from the people��amid the current ombudsman’s insistence on a policy of restricted public access to public officials’��declaration of assets.��������

“It seems that the present Ombudsman has forgotten that in a democracy, the people are the principals, and the government officials are their agents, not the other way around,”��Christian S.��Monsod, also a former chair of the��Commission on Elections, said in an online forum.����

Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires, who was appointed to the post by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in 2018, issued a circular in Sept. 2020 limiting access to��statements��of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), which government workers and officials are required to file annually.��������

The circular has been used to deny requests for Mr. Duterte’s SALNs.������

Journalist��Malou C. Mangahas, former Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism��executive��director,��said the circular is a hindrance to the people’s right to know, adding that Mr. Duterte is the first president in 30 years to not disclose his SALN publicly.������

Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales also questioned the circular last year,��saying��that it is a violation of the constitutional principle that��“public office is a public trust.”������

Under the circular, copies of��a��public official’s��SALNs may only be given to the official or their duly authorized representative, a requester��based on a court order, and the Office of the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Office to conduct fact-finding investigation.������

During the House committee on appropriations’��2022��budget deliberation of his office on Sept. 9, Mr.��Martires��said��he himself was a victim of��“what the media can do to destroy a government official”��when his 2018 SALN was questioned for gaining P15 million within five months from August to Dec. 2018.����

Former��senator��Orlando “Orly” S. Mercado,��who is also one of the authors of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees,��said during the forum that while he understands Mr.��Martires’��personal experience with SALNs, public officials must instead explain the reason for their wealth and not opt to remove��“an important piece of��armamentation.”��������

“If there is nothing to hide, there should be nothing to fear,”��Mr. Mercado said in Filipino.������

Republic Act 6713 requires all public officials and employees to file a SALN, and under Section 8,��“any statement filed under this Act shall be available to the public for a period of 10 years after receipt of the statement.”��—��Bianca Angelica D.��Añago����