Scared of SALN

For the life of me, I never could believe congressmen or government officials honestly declare their wealth in their annual Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN). It is just not human nature, in my view of things.

Suspecting the integrity of government officials and the veracity of SALN is, by all measures, cynicism at its loudest. But congressmen, by their own mulishness, are not helping us any from rotating our inborn cynicism into, at least, guarded optimism.

Just last week, the House, in a case of shooting its own foot, made it extremely difficult for the public to get hold of copies of congressmen’s SALN.

In justifying stringent measures, a vocal congressman said the approved resolution was a means “to protect the safety of House members and their employees from information that can be derived in the SALN falling into the hands of unscrupulous individuals.”

Protection is a reasonable justification, at first glance. On a second look, protection is worthwhile only if the information listed in the submitted SALN holds true for the filer.

Common public perception undoubtedly does tend to cast large doubts on the truthfulness of the SALN filer. In fact, disregarding public perception, isn’t it obvious that by its very nature a SALN does nothing but call attention to the filer’s integrity?

How so? Because if SALN filers are generally judged upfront and honest about their fiscal doings during government employment there would be no point for SALN.

To better appreciate this, perhaps a little note on us and taxes will help. If all of us are meticulously honest about paying all the taxes due government, the Bureau of Internal Revenue would basically be a one-man operation.

So, if dishonesty seems to be the true order of things, the often-quoted sneer on those hesitant about the contents of their SALN — those who have nothing to hide should not fear disclosure nor scrutiny — is a sharp remark, even if a cliché.

Elaborated, it essentially means that if a SALN filer had integrity, then all items made for public scrutiny are incontestable truths. So much so that no matter how anyone shakes it sideways or turns it upside down, there is simply no way truth will cause damage. Truth, in short, is the best protection against all comers wishing ill.

As it is, however, suspicions about the integrity of the filer also logically lead to assumptions that what is being detailed in the SALN are diverse varieties of truths, half-truths and lies. Are we then to protect the half-truths and lies alongside the truths?

Given this reality, it is then clearly inadmissible for us to just sit back and allow smug liars and half-truthers sneak by on their way to the bank with our money, as invariably the money they carry are fruits of corruption. By all means, let’s at least get back the monies even if judicial judgment allows a bearer to go scot-free as in one celebrated case that we all know.

Anyway, by its very nature, lies or half-truths will always dispatch to the nether world a politician, a creature who wants nothing more than to keep up, before a skeptical public, his or her cultivated veneer of honesty and integrity.

Come election time, such risks then beg the question — why do politicians gamble with lies an official public document in the first place when it can be used against them? It is an inexplicable stupidity. It is as if our politicians find inordinate joy in doing risky behavior of telling lies and making it public.

Such is the unfortunate truth of our contemporary politics. A sad truth where telling lies about corrupted public funds are mere misdemeanors, like jaywalking, easily committed, easily dispensed with and gets a convicted felon reelected.

As to why Congress as an institution is an accessory to crime instead of policing actively against a rascal who is a sly, hypocritical shell of a public servant with a malevolent desire on the public treasury is disheartening.

Our frustrations, however, quickly turned into mockery upon seeing again pictures of the insouciant leader of the current House. Recent news about the outlawed pork barrel, in fact, readily aided our perceptions congressmen bent on blocking easy disclosure of SALN were even up to more financial mischiefs.

Harsh judgments like these nonetheless do not prevent us from granting leave to our august congressmen and their reasons.

If anything, what congressmen are actually meaning to say when arguing for stringent measures is that even if their SALN are as truthful as these can be, there is no guarantee a determined political opponent will not turn stated truths into lies.

Asserting SALN are weapons to wreak havoc on political careers has some truth to it.

Politicians bombarding contempt on a rival using SALN data is a riveting sport in our democracy, curiously entertaining at best but grisly violent when overwrought.

Nonetheless, this assertion of unprincipled politicking is a sad, disagreeable reflection of our politics and our electorate.

Disagreeable on our particular brand of politics because it means our politics is easily overwhelmed by lies. Disagreeable on our electorate because it means Filipino voters are powerless at discerning between true and false information.

In sum, therefore, the best protection for keeping sane in our dreary political environment is still transparency all around. Transparency still validates the beauty of readily available SALN — it keeps everyone somewhat honest.