Deadline of SALN filing extended anew

MANILA, Philippines — The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has extended the deadline for the filing of Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) for another 60 days or until Aug. 31 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“All public officials and employees are given additional period of 60 days from June 30, 2020, the last day of filing of the SALN, or until Aug. 31, 2020, to file their SALNs with their respective departments, offices or agencies, unless the circumstances require otherwise,” the CSC said in its Memorandum Circular 13 dated June 22.

The CSC likewise gave government offices additional 60 days or until Oct. 31 to transmit the filed SALNs of their officials and employees to the appropriate repository agencies in order to give them ample time for review.

“All heads of department, office or agency shall establish procedures for the review of the SALNs to determine whether said statements have been submitted on time, are complete and are in proper form. It shall also include the constitution of the review and compliance procedure,” the CSC memorandum read.

“The last day of submission of the SALN forms by all departments, agencies and offices to the appropriate repository agencies is extended from Aug. 31, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2020.”

In an earlier memorandum, the CSC had moved the original deadline of the filing of SALNs from April 30 to June 30 and the submission to repository agencies from June 30 to Aug. 31 after the entire country was placed under quarantine due to the COVID-19 crisis.

In its new memorandum, the CSC said the filing of SALNs, including the mandatory oath-taking, may now be done online.

“The online filing or transmission of a duly executed SALN shall be allowed... The department, office or agency concerned shall put in place processes and mechanisms to enable or allow online oath-taking of the SALN and the electronic filing of the SALN, and to ensure that the SALN electronically filed are verifiable and authentic,” the CSC memorandum read.

For the online oath-taking, the CSC said the declarant and the administering officer may meet through electronic communication channels such as WebEx, Zoom or Skype.

“The administering officer is required to record and submit a list of online oath-taking he/she administered together with a certification that the names appearing on the list took their oath before him/her through electronic meeting. The list shall be submitted to the human resource department/office within five days from the last day of filing of SALNs for recording purposes,” the CSC added.

In turn, the CSC said the declarant may submit online, such as through electronic mail, his or her “duly executed SALN” to the concerned department, office or agency.

“A ‘duly executed SALN’ refers to a SALN that is personally signed under oath before an administering officer or notary public, or executed through online oath-taking,” the CSC added.

The agency reminded government officials and employees that SALNs to be filed online must be in portable document format or PDF.

“Submission of electronic SALNs shall be deemed substantial compliance for the year 2020,” the CSC said.

It added that the government offices may then transmit the filed SALNs to the appropriate repository agency either “physically” or “electronically.”

SALNs for physical submission, according to the CSC, must be in hard copies or printed form, while SALNs for electronic submission must be stored in USB flash drives or compact discs.

The memorandum was signed by CSC chair Alicia dela Rosa-Bala.

Section 8 of Republic Act (RA) 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees requires all government officials and employees to file their SALNs within 30 days after assumption of office, on or before April 30 of every year thereafter, and within 30 days after separation from the service.

Under Section 46 of the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, failure to file a SALN shall be punishable with suspension of one month to six months for the first offense and dismissal from the service for the second offense.

As for the criminal aspect, the erring government worker may face cases of perjury and violation of RA 6713. Non-filing of or misdeclaration in SALNs may also lead to forfeiture of ill-gotten or unexplained wealth.

Under RA 6713, the SALNs of constitutional and national elective officials, including the President and Vice President, must be submitted to the central office of the Office of the Ombudsman; senators and congressmen to the secretaries of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively; Supreme Court justices to the clerk of court of the SC; trial court judges to the court administrator; and all national executive officials to the Office of the President.

The SALNs of regional and local officials and employees must be submitted to the deputy ombudsman in their respective regions; officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, to the Office of the President, and those below said ranks, to the deputy ombudsman in their respective regions.

The SALNs of all other public officials and employees defined in Republic Act No. 3019 shall be submitted to the CSC.