No “conscious effort” to conceal Duterte’s SALN, says Palace

November 4, 2020

Malacanang said on Wednesday that there was no "conscious effort" to conceal President Rodrigo Duterte's net worth.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque told CNN Philippines that Duterte  obeyed the law when he filed his 2018 and 2019 statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth before the Office of the Ombudsman.

"I don't think there is a conscious effort to conceal because he has complied with it," he said.

Despite submitting his SALNs, Ombudsman Samuel Martires, an appointee of Duterte, recently issued a memorandum limiting the release of the copy of the documents to the declarant and for officers conducting investigations.

Martires' action was contrary to the practices of his predecessors who allowed the public, including the media, secure a copy of the SALNs provided that they follow the requirements.

Members of the press have kept on asking Malacanang that Duterte allows them to get copy of his SALNs during the past two years.

Roque earlier promised to ask Duterte if he would allow it.

But the spokesman said he has yet to talk to the President regarding the matter since he is still focused on disaster response after Super Typhoon "Rolly" pummeled the country.

In the meantime, Roque said Duterte was just respecting the recent guidelines issued by the Ombudsman.

"After all, the Ombudsman is the constitutional body tasked with promoting accountability on these public officers. So all he is saying is, let’s respect the guidelines issued by the Ombudsman and let’s comply with those guidelines," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS