EDITORIAL - A call for transparency

With the lapse of the deadline for the filing of substitutions yesterday, the nation now has a firmer list of candidates in the 2022 general elections. Withdrawal is still possible until election day. The Commission on Elections also said it expected many candidates for the presidency to be declared as nuisance and disqualified.

Most of the candidates are mouthing the same promises of good governance. They can put their money where their mouth is by heeding a call from Sorsogon Gov. Francis Escudero. Over the weekend, Escudero said that in the spirit of transparency and accountability, candidates for national posts should release their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth or SALN.

Under Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, all government officials and employees must submit sworn SALNs within 30 days after assuming office and then every year thereafter. Business interests and financial transactions must be declared together with the wealth of their spouses and unmarried children under 18 living in their household.

Escudero, who is running for senator, has also been pushing for a law mandating public officials to sign a waiver of the secrecy of their bank deposits and investment bonds both in the Philippines and abroad. This may be too much to ask, however, of officials who refuse to even release their SALNs for public scrutiny. This is a voluntary act that no law prevents them from doing.

Senators have always made their SALNs available to the public. As a lawmaker, Escudero had gone a step further and submitted a waiver on the secrecy of his bank deposits. Voters will be happy to see candidates for local positions releasing their SALNs. Escudero’s message should resonate: “For greater transparency, we should make our SALNs readily available. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear.”