The legal basis is Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) only because it is the later law c
OUTLINE
- LEGAL BASES
- BASIC INFORMATION
- CONTENT (FORM)
LEGAL BASES
The legal basis is Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) only because it is the later law compared to RA No. 3019 (Anti-Graft Corrupt
Practices Act).
Several portions of the previous form have been removed like the amount and sources of gross income, amount of personal and family expenses, and amount of income taxes paid, all of which were required to be declared under RA No. 3019 (Anti-Graft Corrupt Practices Act).
What is the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN)?
SALN stands for Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth. It is a declaration of assets (i.e., land, vehicles, etc) and liabilities (i.e., loans, debts, etc), including business and financial interests, of an official/employee, of his or her spouse, and of his or her unmarried children under 18 years old still living in their parents’ households.
The submission of a SALN is required by law under Article XI Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution and Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713, the “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.”
It includes a waiver authorizing the Ombudsman or his authorized representatives to attain documents that may show assets, liabilities, net worth, business interests, and financial connections from all appropriate government agencies.
Simply:
It is the statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth, and the disclosure of financial connections or business interests and identification of relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity.
Further, it also requires the declarant to name his/her bilas, balae and inso who are in government service.
What is the purpose of the SALN?
“The purpose of the SALN is to promote transparency in the civil service and to establish a deterrent against government officials bent on enriching themselves through unlawful means.” (1Estrella Abid-Babano vs. Executive Secretary, G.R. No. 201176, 28 August 2019.)
Who is exempted from filing the SALN Form?
1. Those serving in honorary capacity—persons who are working in the government without service credit and without pay.
2. Those whose position title is laborer - persons whose work depends on mere physical power to perform ordinary manual labor, and not one engaged in services consisting mainly of work requiring mental skill or business capacity, and involving the exercise of intellectual faculties.
3. Those who are casual or temporary workers - persons hired to do work outside what is considered necessary for the usual operations of the employer's business.
When should the SALN be filed?
The SALN should be filed:
1. within thirty (30) days after assumption of office, statements of which must be reckoned as of his/ her first day of service;
2. on or before April 30 of every year thereafter, statements of which must be reckoned as of the end of the preceding year; or
3. within thirty (30) days after separation from the service, statements of which must be reckoned as of his last day of office.
What form should be used?
The currently prescribed form is the one revised as of January 2015 per CSC Resolution No. 1500088 promulgated on 23 January 2015.
Download Fix form (8.5x13 long-size):
PROHIBITED ACTS
“It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain or use any statement filed under this Act for: “any purpose contrary to morals or public policy; or “any commercial purpose other than by news and communications media for dissemination to the general public.”
Guidelines in the Use of the Revised
Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) Form
I. Objectives
- To enjoin all public officers and employees to declare and submit an annual true, detailed, and sworn statement of their assets, liabilities, and net worth, including disclosure of business interest, financial connections, relatives in the government service, amount and sources of income, amount of personal and family expenses, and amount of income taxes paid for the preceding calendar year.
- To ensure that the assets, liabilities, net worth, financial connections, and business interests of the declarant’s spouse and unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age living in the declarant’s household are also disclosed; and
- To allow the declarant and his/her spouse, who is also employed in the government, to choose whether to file their SALN jointly or separately.
II. Scope
- All officials and employees of national and local governments, including state universities and colleges, and government-owned and controlled corporations with original charters shall be covered by these guidelines.
III. Definition of Terms
1. AFFINITY — refers to the relationship of a husband to the blood relatives of his wife, or a wife to the blood relatives of her husband (Sibal, Philippine Legal Encyclopedia, 1986 Edition, page 65 and page 30, respectively).
2. ASSESSED VALUE — is the fair market value of the real property multiplied by the assessment level.
3. ASSETS — refer to the declarant’s real and personal properties, including those of his/her spouse and unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age living in his/her household.
4. BALAE — refers to the parents and parents-in-law relationship (term of reference); a parent of one’s son or daughter-in-law.
5. BILAS — refers to a brother-in-law’s wife or sister-in-law’s husband.
6. BUSINESS INTERESTS — refers to the declarant’s other sources of income or existing interest in any business enterprise or entity, aside from his/her income from the government, including those of his/her spouse and unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age living in his/her household.
7. COMMUNITY PROPERTY — Unless otherwise provided by law or in the marriage settlements, the community property shall consist of all the property owned by the spouses at the time of the celebration of the marriage or acquired (Article 91 of the Family Code of the Philippines).
8. CONJUGAL PROPERTY — All property acquired during the marriage, whether the acquisition appears to have been made, contracted, or registered in the name of one or both spouses, is presumed to be conjugal unless the contrary is proved (Article 116 of the Family Code of the Philippines).
9. CONSANGUINITY — is defined as a relationship by blood from the same stock or common ancestor (Sibal, Philippines Legal Encyclopedia, 1986 Edition, page 65 and 30, respectively).
10. ESTIMATED AMOUNT — refers to the projected amount of personal and family expenses.
11. FAIR MARKET VALUE — is the highest price a property can command if put up for sale in an open market. It shall be based on the tax declaration.
12. FAMILY EXPENSES — refer to the amount of family expenses incurred by the declarant for the preceding calendar year.
13. FINANCIAL CONNECTIONS — refer to the declarant’s existing connections with any business enterprise or entity, whether as a consultant, adviser, and the like, with an expectation of remuneration for services rendered, including those of his/her spouse and unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age living in his/her household.
14. GROSS INCOME — refers to all income derived from whatever source (Section 32 of the National Internal Revenue Code).
15. INCOME TAXES — refer to all taxes paid for the preceding calendar year, whether derived from employment or business.
16. INSO — refers to the appellation for the wife of an elder brother or male cousin.
17. LIABILITY — refers to financial liability or anything that can result in an asset's transfer or disposal through personal loans or otherwise obtained from banks, financial institutions, GSIS, PAG-IBIG, and the like. It includes those incurred by the declarant and those of his/her spouse and unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age living in his/her household.
18. NATURE OF BUSINESS INTEREST AND/OR FINANCIAL CONNECTION — refers to existing interest or connection in any business enterprise, whether as proprietor, investor, promoter, partner, shareholder, officer, managing director, executive, creditor, lawyer, legal consultant or adviser, financial or business consultant and the like.
19. NATURE OF LIABILITY — refers to the type of loan obtained such as personal, multi-purpose, salary, calamity loan, and the like.
20. NET WORTH — is the sum of all assets (real, personal, and other assets) less total liabilities.
21. OTHER ASSETS — refer to investments or intangible assets, such as cash on hand or in a bank, negotiable instruments, securities, stocks, bonds, and the like.
22. OUTSTANDING BALANCE — refers to the amount of money that one still owes on the loan as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year.
23. PARAPHERNAL PROPERTY — All property brought by the wife to the marriage, as well as all property she acquires during the marriage, in accordance with article 148 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, is paraphernal (Article 135 of the Civil Code of the Philippines).
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24. PERSONAL EXPENSES — refer to the amount of personal expenses incurred by the declarant for the preceding calendar year.
25. PERSONAL PROPERTY — includes jewelry, appliances, furniture, motor vehicle, and other tangible properties.
26. REAL PROPERTY — (a) as to KIND, includes residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, etc.: (b) as to NATURE, includes paraphernal, conjugal, and absolute community.
27. RELATIVES IN THE GOVERNMENT — include declarant’s relatives up to the fourth civil degree of relationship, either by consanguinity or affinity, including bilas, inso, and balae.
28. SOURCES OF INCOME — refer to all sources of the declarant’s income, whether derived from practice of profession, business, and the like, for the preceding calendar year.
29. TANGIBLE PROPERTY — refers to anything which can be touched, and includes both real property and personal property (or moveable property).
30. INTANGIBLE PROPERTY — refers to property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the representative or evidence of value, such as stock certificates, bond
IV. Guidelines in Accomplishing the Revised Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) Form
A. Contents of the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN)
- The SALN shall contain a true and complete declaration of assets, liabilities, and net worth, including disclosure of business interests, financial connections of the declarant, his/her spouse, and unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age living in his/her household. It shall also contain a disclosure of the declarant’s relatives in the government service, amount and sources of gross income, amount of personal and family expenses, and amount of income taxes paid as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year.
- Assets include those within or outside the Philippines, whether real or personal, tangible or intangible, and whether or not used in trade or business.
- Real properties shall be accompanied by a description of its kind, nature exact location, acquisition mode and year, assessed value, fair market value, the acquisition cost of land, building, etc. including improvement thereon.
- For computation purposes of real properties, acquisition cost shall be used.
- Personal properties and other assets are categorized into tangible and intangible and shall include acquisition mode and year, and acquisition cost.
- Excluded from the computation of real and personal properties are the properties of unmarried children below 18 years of age living in the declarant’s household, as well as the paraphernal/exclusive properties othe f declarant’s spouse, in case of separate filing.
- Assets, such as cash on hand in the bank, as well as stocks and the like, denominated in foreign currency shall be converted into the corresponding Philippine currency equivalent, at the rate of exchange prevailing as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year.
- Under liabilities, the nature of liability and name of creditors shall be indicated.
- All existing liabilities, secured or unsecured, whether or not incurred in trade or business, shall disclose the outstanding balance as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year.
- The declarant’s total net worth, and that of his/her spouse, in case of joint filing, shall be the difference between the total assets (real and personal properties) and the total liabilities.
- In case of joint filing, the declarant and his/her spouse shall declare the amounts and all sources of their gross income, whether derived from the practice of profession, business and the like, for the preceding calendar year.
- In case of joint filing, the declarant and his/her spouse shall declare the estimated amounts of their personal and family expenses, for the preceding calendar year.
- In case of joint filing, the declarant and his/her spouse shall declare all the taxes paid for the preceding calendar year, whether taxes imposed on income or business.
- The declarant, including his/her spouse and unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age living in the declarant’s household, shall declare their existence or connection in any business enterprise or entity, aside from income from the government. They shall also indicate the business address, nature of business interest and/or financial connection, and date of acquisition of interest or connection.
- In case there are no existing business interests and financial connections in any business enterprise or entity, the declarant shall tick the box provided for.
- In case of joint filing, the declarant and his/her spouse shall disclose their relatives in the government within the fourth civil degree of relationship, either by consanguinity or affinity. They shall also state their relationship with the relative, relative’s position in the government, as well as the official name and address.
- In case the declarant and his/her spouse, for joint filing, do not know of any relative/s in the government, they shall tick the box provided for.
- In case of joint filing, the declarant and his/her spouse shall sign in the spaces provided just below the certification.
- In case of separate filing, only the declarant shall sign in the space provided for, while the declarant’s spouse shall sign in the space below.
B. Review and Compliance Committee
- Pursuant to Rule VIII of the Rules Implementing the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, as amended by CSC Resolution No. 06-0231 dated February 1, 2006 on the establishment of a standard review and compliance procedure for the review of SALN, a Review and Compliance Committee composed of two (2) Members and a Chairman, shall evaluate the SALN Form submitted to determine whether it was submitted on time, accomplished completely and proper in form.
- Declarant is strictly required to fill in/provide all applicable information.
- Items not applicable to the declarant should be marked N/A (Not Applicable).
- Additional sheets may be used, if necessary.
- Attach all supporting documents, when required.
- No unnecessary markings shall be made on the form.
C. Sanction
Failure of an official or employee to submit his/her SALN is punishable under Section 52 (B) (8), Rule IV of the Uniform Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, with the following penalties:
- 1st Offense - Suspension for one (1) month and one (1) day to six (6) months
- 2nd Offense - Dismissal from the service
Source: CSC
March 21, 2023
COMMENTS