Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
‘Second Regular Session

House entNno.__© 338

Introduced by Hon. Erico B. Aumentado

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution explicitly provides that “[A] 4
public officer or employee shall, upon assumption of office and as often
thereatier as may be required by faw, submit a declaration under oath of
his assets, liabilities, and net worth. In the case of the President, the
Vice-President, the Members of the Cabinet, the Congress, the Supreme
Court, the Constitutional Commissions and other constitutional offices,
and officers of the armed forces with general or flag rank, the declaration
shall be disclosed to the public in the manner provided by law.”

Heeding this clarion call, Congress enacted a law to give force and
effect on this constitutional exhortation. ‘The law was denominated as
Republic Act 6713, also known as “The Code of Conduct and Ethical
Standards for Public Officials and Employees.”

The effectiveness of the law was later put to a test during the
impeachment of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, specifically, under
Article II of the Articles of Impeachment which raises the issues of non-
disclosure of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth
(SALN) to the public and the failure to disclose certain real properties
and cash assets in his SALN as required by RA 6713.

No less than the Presiding Judge of the Impeachment Court, Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile acknowledge that the non-disclosure to the
public of the SALNs of government officials became the raging issue of
the time. Despite the clear provision of RA 6713 on the need to disclose
all the assets, liabilities and net worth, yet the law still appears
insufficient to compe! public officials the full disclosure required by the
Constitution of their assets once they entered government service.


~

‘To borrow the words of the Senate President Enrile, he’ said that
“We cannot ignore the fact that the failure or refusal, particularly of
public officials in high government positions, to provide the public or the
media with copies of the SALN’s, continues to be a raging issue to this
day. In fact, some, if not most of the members of the Prosecution panel
itself, the Members of the Supreme Court, meiibers of Congress and
other high officials of the government have been challenged by media
organizations to make their SALN’s available to the public and to the
media.”

In fine, the challenge before us, legislatures, is how can we in the
government fulfill the required full disclosure of assets, liabilities and net
worth and in the process uphold the basic principle of transparency and
public accountability enshrined in the 1987 Constitution?

‘Thus, this Bill seck 10 address the public clamor of total
transparency and accountability in the government by providing a built-in
mechanism in the law that would require high public officials to open
their SALNs to the public upon assumption of office by publishing the
same in the Official Gazette of the Republic.

Likewise, it seeks to remove the doubt in the law with regards to
the question of inclusion or exclusion of all kinds of bank deposits owned
by a declarant public official/employee. Notwithstanding the provision of
RA 6426 on the secrecy of foreign currency deposits, it shall not bar the
filer from including any foreign currency deposits in his/her SALNs by
converting the amount into its peso equivalent.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon Ci

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
‘Second Regular Session
6338

TEQUSE BILL NO.

—————

Introduced by Hon, Erico B. Aumentado

ANACT
AMENDING SECTION 8 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO, 6713, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE “CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR
PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Paragraphs A (c) and B, Section 8 of Republic Act No. 6713
shall be amended to read as follows

“Section 8, — Xxx

(A) Staiements of Assets and Liabilities and Financial
Disclosure. - All public officials and employees. except those who
serve in an honorary capacity. laborers and casual or temporary
workers, shall file under oath their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and
Net Worth and a Disclosure of Business Interests and Financial
Connections and those of their spouses and unmarried children under
eighteen (18) vears of age living in their households.

The two documents shall contain information on the following:

(@) Xxx

() Xo

(4) all other assels such as investments, cash on hand or in banks
‘THAT SHALL INCLUDE BOTH PESO AND FOREIGN CURRENCY
DEPOSITS CONVERTED INTO ITS PESO EQUIVALENT BASED ON
EXCHANGE RATE IN THE PRECEDING YEAR, stocks, bonds, and the
like.


{@) Xax
(@ Xxx

(B) Xxx

(C) Accessibility of documents, - (1) Any and all statements filed
under this Act, shall be made available for inspection at reasonable hours,
PROVIDED: THAT, IN THE CASE OF THE PRESIDENT, THE VECE-
PRESIDENT, THE MEMBERS OF THE CABINET, THE CONGRESS,

AND OFFICERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WITH GENERAL OR
FLAG RANK, THE STATEMENTS FILED UPON ASSUMPTION TO
OFFICE SHALL BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE
WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS FROM SUCH FILING.

SEC. 3. Repeating Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders,

rules and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of
this Act are hiereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 4, Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall (ake effect fifteen (15) days after

its publication in at least 1wo (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,