In the current mad dash for control of the Senate, one can imagine the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago turning in her grave in disgust.
Had she still been around, she might well have described the imbroglio as an “away ng mga corrupt,” a phrase she once used to characterize political scheming involving the high and mighty in government.
Many in the public would likely regard such an assessment as the bottom line of what is now unfolding, given the widespread perception that those in government, particularly members of Congress and the Senate, have long been predisposed to deception, beginning with their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).
Former Finance Undersecretary and University of the Philippines School of Economics professor Cielo Magno was among the budget and government watchdogs who considered the annual SALNs submitted by members of the legislature a big joke.
The documents required from public servants are supposedly the primary tool for keeping public officials honest, but they have degenerated into a meaningless compliance ritual that shields corrupt officials rather than exposes them.
“It has become merely a compliance tool rather than an instrument for the public to assess the honesty, integrity and quality of life of senators and politicians in general,” Magno said.
For instance, Senator Chiz Escudero declared himself in his SALN as the poorest member of the Senate, with a net worth of only P18 million, but Magno cited social media posts showing Escudero gifting his wife a ring that online estimates value at up to $1 million.
“If he can give a gift worth a million dollars, do you really believe he is worth only P18 million? It’s almost a joke,” Magno said, adding that Escudero’s declared house was valued at a mere P3 million. “Where can you buy such a residential house for P3 million?”
The rot goes far deeper than any single senator’s ridiculous disclosure. A legal expert said the SALN was not intended for transparency because of the gross paucity of information.
The SALN suffers from structural defects that render it useless as an accountability tool.
There is no standard for valuing or declaring assets. Officials decide for themselves what to include and how to price it.
Some declare personal effects; others do not. Property valuations are pegged to outdated local government assessments rather than market values, a loophole that almost all government officials exploit.
The SALN also lacks a beneficial ownership provision that identifies who actually profits from a business, even when their name does not appear in the records. Officials may “divest” on paper by transferring holdings to spouses, children or cousins, yet continue to draw benefits from them. Without a beneficial ownership disclosure requirement, such arrangements are invisible.
The document is not even cross-checked against tax returns, regulatory filings and Anti-Money Laundering Council data.
This is among the key reasons government documents remain largely undigitized even in the age of artificial intelligence, as inconsistencies go undetected.
Most agencies merely check whether an official submitted a SALN and not what it contains.
Magno said the bogus accountability documents are behind the hundreds of billions of pesos ending up in the pockets of crooks in government.
“Although pork barrel was declared unconstitutional, the behavior behind it remained,” she said.
Legislators still enjoy discretion over infrastructure insertions, a practice that breeds rent-seeking, she noted. Remove the discretion, and the kickbacks vanish with it.
She also dismissed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s claim that the corruption scandal is purely a legal matter.
“For the President to say, ‘I’ve done my job, this is now a legal issue,’ is disappointing,” she said. “Years from now, another scandal will emerge — and instead of billions, we may be talking about trillions.”
