SALNs to be kept digitally 'virtually forever,' says Clavano

Following the release of Memorandum Order No. 3 of the Office of the Ombudsman, which lifted restrictions on public access to the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of high-ranking officials, a digitalization effort for these documents is now being planned.

According to Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano, aside from revising the forms attached to the SALN request process, the provision allowing the destruction of these documents after a certain number of years has been removed.

The removal of the 10-year preservation limit aligns with Republic Act No. 10910, which extended the prescriptive period for filing criminal charges under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA No. 3019) from 10 to 20 years.

“So, as long as you file it, we will keep it physically for 20 years, but after that, as long as we have the digital record, that will be there virtually forever,” AO Clavano said in Filipino.

He explained that the digitized records could be used to monitor unusual growth in the assets of public servants in the coming years. However, their use as evidence in criminal cases will still be limited to 20 years.

“The crime must have been committed within the last 20 years, so if it is evidence of a crime, then it can no longer be used. It is accessible but it can no longer be used in evidence,” Clavano stated.

“However, if it is only for the purposes of comparison, then you can use SALN even above and beyond the 20 years,” he added.

According to Clavano, the digitalization of SALNs will help track the accumulation of wealth among public officials and allow lifestyle checks to determine if undeclared assets appear over time.

He emphasized that these initiatives are part of the Ombudsman’s broader push for transparency and fairness in processing public information requests.

“I think this is high time that we request information to the Ombudsman. This is an attempt of the Office of the Ombudsman to advocate for transparency as the general policy,” AO Clavano stated.

Clavano also said the Ombudsman will implement a “first in, first out” policy for SALN requests to ensure fair treatment among requesters.