QuestionsQuestions (OMB MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 01, S. 2009)
All SALNs filed with the Office of the Ombudsman (including area and sectoral offices) are accessible and may be inspected/reproduced by the public during reasonable hours of working days and within the view of the custodian officer.
Copies of SALNs may be made after ten (10) working days from the time they are filed as required by law.
The statement is available to the public for a period of ten (10) years after receipt. It may be destroyed after such period unless needed in an ongoing investigation.
Legitimate reasons include: (a) needed in school for study purposes; (b) to be disseminated to the general public by news and communication media; or (c) upon a court subpoena duly signed by a Presiding Judge in a pending criminal case or by request personally signed by an authorized officer/representative in the case of another quasi-judicial agency.
The request shall be denied outright.
The requester must not disclose the name of the owner of the SALN. In all cases, the private address of the owner must be blackened.
All requests for copies of SALNs filed with the Ombudsman shall be filed with the Public Assistance Bureau (PAB) of the central and area/sectoral offices.
To determine whether the requested SALN is in the custody of the Office of the Ombudsman pursuant to Section 1(c), Rule VII, RA 6713 and CSC Memorandum Circular No. 20, s. 1994.
The processor must promptly inform the requester that the SALN is in the custody of another office/agency.
The requester must present the original of at least two government-issued IDs bearing the requester’s picture and signature for photocopying. Examples include GSIS/SSS, TIN/Pag-IBIG/PhilHealth, passport, driver’s license, PRC ID, IBP ID, and (if a student) a Student ID.
When the inspection/reproduction is not for study purposes or not for dissemination to the general public by news/communication media, or when the requesting party appears fictitious.
Examples include: threats to Ombudsman independence/objectivity; requests traced to a litigant/lawyer/interested party in a pending case; suspected “fishing expedition” or harassment/retaliation; or requests intended to extort, or that pose danger to the personal safety of the official/employee and/or family.
The reason for denial must be specified in all cases.
The request for SALN must be acted upon within the period provided under the Citizen’s Charter of the Office.
Instead of requesting SALN, the requester may report in writing to the Ombudsman with reasons for the belief; the matter will be acted upon by the Field Investigation Office (FIO), which may request the official’s SALN.
The private address of the owner of the SALN must be blackened in the copy, to maintain privacy.
The requester must accomplish the attached form, subscribe, and swear it before any prosecutor in the Office of the Ombudsman; the form becomes part of the public record but is kept by the custodian officer of the SALN.
The requester must: (i) pay the cost of reproduction; (ii) certify under oath that he/she will abide by the undertaking in the prescribed form; (iii) have the prescribed form duly subscribed by an authorized administering officer; and (iv) have the private address of the owner blackened in the copy.