Every public official and employee must file a sworn Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, except those serving in an honorary capacity, laborers, and casual or temporary workers. It covers the filer, the spouse, and unmarried children under eighteen living in the household. It is filed within thirty days after assuming office, on or before April 30 of every year thereafter, and within thirty days after leaving the service. Violations of the disclosure provisions are punishable by imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine of up to ₱5,000, or both, and may separately be a ground for removal.
The Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth — universally the SALN — is the most routine compliance obligation in Philippine public service and one of the most litigated. It is worth knowing precisely what the law requires, because the consequences of getting it wrong reach beyond an administrative reprimand.
The Underlying Obligation
The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (Republic Act No. 6713) frames the duty in two directions. Public officials and employees have an obligation to accomplish and submit declarations under oath of their assets, liabilities, net worth and financial and business interests — and the public has the right to know them. The declaration extends to the assets and interests of the filer’s spouse and of unmarried children under eighteen years of age living in their households.
That second half explains why the SALN is a disclosure instrument rather than a tax return. It exists to be read.
Who Must File, And Who Need Not
All public officials and employees must file, except those who serve in an honorary capacity, laborers, and casual or temporary workers. The exception is narrow and is worth reading strictly — it does not exempt employees merely because they are junior, nor because they hold a co-terminous or contractual appointment that is not, in fact, casual or temporary in the sense the law uses.
Two documents are contemplated: the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, and a Disclosure of Business Interests and Financial Connections.
What Must Be Declared
The documents must contain information on:
- real property, its improvements, acquisition costs, assessed value and current fair market value;
- personal property and acquisition cost;
- all other assets such as investments, cash on hand or in banks, stocks, bonds and the like;
- liabilities; and
- all business interests and financial connections.
Real property is the item that most often causes trouble, because the statute asks for four separate figures — acquisition cost, assessed value, current fair market value, and the improvements — and a filer who supplies only one of them has not fully answered what was asked.
The Three Deadlines
The documents must be filed:
- within thirty days after assumption of office;
- on or before April 30 of every year thereafter; and
- within thirty days after separation from the service.
The exit SALN is the one most commonly missed. The obligation does not end when the employment does, and an official who resigns or retires still owes a statement within thirty days of leaving.
There is a fourth, separate thirty-day obligation that is easy to overlook. Every official and employee required to file must also execute, within thirty days from assumption of office, an authority in favour of the Ombudsman to obtain from all appropriate government agencies, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, documents showing their assets, liabilities, net worth, business interests and financial connections in previous years, including if possible the year they first assumed office.
Where husband and wife are both public officials or employees, they may file the required statements jointly or separately.
Where Each Official Files
The statute assigns a different repository depending on the position held:
- Constitutional and national elective officials — with the national office of the Ombudsman;
- Senators and Congressmen — with the Secretaries of the Senate and of the House of Representatives respectively; Justices — with the Clerk of Court of the Supreme Court; Judges — with the Court Administrator; and all national executive officials — with the Office of the President;
- Regional and local officials and employees — with the Deputy Ombudsman in their respective regions;
- Officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain — with the Office of the President; those below those ranks — with the Deputy Ombudsman in their respective regions;
- all other public officials and employees — with the Civil Service Commission.
Filing with the wrong office is not a trivial slip; the obligation is to file where the law directs.
Public Access
Statements filed under the Act are to be made available for inspection at reasonable hours, and available for copying or reproduction after ten working days from the time they are filed. A person requesting a copy may be required to pay a reasonable fee covering reproduction and mailing.
The Act also restricts the purposes for which a statement obtained in this way may be used, and gives the official concerned a right of action against a person who obtains or uses a statement for a prohibited purpose, with the court authorised to assess a penalty of up to ₱25,000 against that person.
Related Duties
Alongside the SALN, the Act imposes a duty on every public official and employee to identify and disclose, to the best of his knowledge and information, his relatives in the Government, in the form, manner and frequency prescribed by the Civil Service Commission. This is the disclosure that underpins the rules against nepotism.
Penalties
The Act provides a general penalty and a specific one.
Generally, a public official or employee — whether holding office in a casual, temporary, holdover, permanent or regular capacity — who violates the Act may be punished with a fine not exceeding the equivalent of six months’ salary, or suspension not exceeding one year, or removal, depending on the gravity of the offence, after due notice and hearing by the appropriate body. If the violation is punishable by a heavier penalty under another law, the offender is prosecuted under that other statute.
Specifically, violations of the provisions on prohibited acts, on statements and disclosure, and on divestment are punishable with imprisonment not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding ₱5,000, or both, and, in the discretion of the court, disqualification to hold public office.
Two further points sharpen the risk. A violation proven in a proper administrative proceeding is sufficient cause for removal or dismissal even if no criminal prosecution is instituted. And private individuals who conspire with public officials in violating the Act as co-principals, accomplices or accessories are subject to the same penal liabilities and are tried jointly with them.
Practical Takeaways
- Diary all three deadlines, and treat the exit SALN as seriously as the annual one.
- Do not assume you are exempt. Only honorary service, laborers, and casual or temporary workers are excepted.
- Give all four figures for real property, not just the one you happen to have.
- Include the spouse and unmarried children under eighteen living in the household.
- File the Ombudsman authority within thirty days of assuming office — it is a separate obligation from the SALN itself.
- File with the office the statute names for your position.
- Use the current form. The Civil Service Commission has primary responsibility for administering and enforcing the Act and prescribes the form in use.
This article is general legal information and not advice on any particular filing. Because a SALN issue can generate administrative and criminal exposure at the same time, an official facing questions about a past statement should take legal advice before responding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is exempt from filing a SALN? Only those who serve in an honorary capacity, laborers, and casual or temporary workers. Everyone else in public service must file, and the statement covers the spouse and unmarried children under eighteen living in the household.
When is the SALN due? Within thirty days after assumption of office, on or before April 30 of every year thereafter, and within thirty days after separation from the service. Separately, an authority in favour of the Ombudsman to obtain financial records must be executed within thirty days of assuming office.
Can anyone ask for a copy of my SALN? Statements filed under the law are available for inspection at reasonable hours and for copying or reproduction after ten working days from filing, subject to a reasonable fee. The law restricts the purposes for which a statement so obtained may be used and gives the official a right of action against misuse.
What happens if I do not file, or file an inaccurate statement? Violations of the disclosure provisions carry imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine of up to 5,000 pesos, or both, and the court may disqualify the offender from holding public office. Separately, a violation proven in an administrative proceeding is sufficient cause for removal or dismissal even if no criminal case is filed.
This commentary is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a licensed attorney.
If you have questions about your rights or options under Philippine law, our firm is available to assist. You may reach us via Viber or WhatsApp, call us at 0995 433 5550, or send an email to vivasnobles@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.