Amendment on SALN Submission Guidelines

Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713 establishes the Office of the Ombudsman as the filing repository for Constitutional and National Elective Officials’ SALNs.
Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713 establishes the Civil Service Commission as the filing repository for SALNs of all other public officials and employees covered by Republic Act No. 3019, as amended.
Memorandum Circular No. 03, s. 2015 (issued to interpret Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713) provides that the Office of the Ombudsman is the repository agency for the SALNs of the President; the Vice-President; Chairpersons and Commissioners of the Commission on Audit, Commission on Elections, and the Civil Service Commission; and the Ombudsman and his or her Deputies.
The Ombudsman’s repository role must follow Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713, without expansion beyond what the law authorizes.

Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2018 amends Memorandum Circular No. 02, s. 2017 by correcting an inadvertent inclusion of certain officials and employees in SALN filing with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Memorandum Circular No. 02, s. 2017 had included officials and employees of Departments, bureaus and agencies, including Government-owned and/or Controlled Corporations with and without original charter and their subsidiaries, State Colleges and Universities, and Local Government Units, whose offices are located in the National Capital Region (NCR), as among those required to file SALNs with the Office of the Ombudsman.
Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2018 corrects this inclusion using the rule that an administrative issuance cannot exceed or broaden the authority granted by Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713.
Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2018 therefore amends Memorandum Circular No. 02, s. 2017 to exclude the affected officials and employees that the law does not authorize the Office of the Ombudsman to receive as repository.

Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2018 excludes from Ombudsman-central receipt the officials and employees of central or main offices of national government agencies.
Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2018 also excludes from Ombudsman-central receipt the officials and employees in the field offices of those national government agencies who are stationed in the NCR.
Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2018 directs that the exclusion applies to the categories of officials and employees previously included in Memorandum Circular No. 02, s. 2017 that were connected to offices located in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The excluded officials and employees are directed away from filing SALNs with the Ombudsman’s National or Central Office because their SALN repository obligations are governed by Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713.

Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2018 instructs that the Central Records Division of the National or Central Office of the Office of the Ombudsman shall no longer receive the SALN of the excluded officials and employees.
After the amendment, SALN submission to the Ombudsman by the excluded officials and employees under Memorandum Circular No. 02, s. 2017 is no longer allowed in practice through the Ombudsman’s Central Records Division.
The Central Records Division continues the SALN repository function only for those whose SALN filing with the Ombudsman is authorized under Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713 and interpreted by Memorandum Circular No. 03, s. 2015.

Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2018 is dated July 12, 2018 and is adopted on 29 June 2018 in Quezon City, Philippines.
The memorandum is signed by Conchita Carpio Morales, Ombudsman (with SGD).
The memorandum amends Memorandum Circular No. 02, s. 2017 and is published in NAR Vol. 29 No. 3 (July–September 18) with the date filed 12 July 2018.
The issuance carries forward the SALN repository framework required by Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713 and relies on the Civil Service Commission’s interpretation under Memorandum Circular No. 03, s. 2015.