by MALOU MANGAHAS and KAROL M. ILAGAN
They are supposed to be the exemplars when it comes to compliance with the law requiring all civil servants to declare and disclose the full details of their assets, liabilities and net worth.
After all, the Office of the Ombudsman is vastly empowered by the Constitution to serve as the premier integrity and anti-graft agency of the land.
But only token compliance to absolute indifference to the law on the filing and disclosure of their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) seems to be the attitude and conduct common to Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez and her 11 deputy and assistant Ombudsmen.
Multiple requests filed by the PCIJ for copies of their SALNs with three government offices that are supposed to be repositories of these documents yielded a paltry, if pathetic, harvest.
Copies of the SALNs of Gutierrez and three senior officials of the Ombudsman are simply nowhere to be found in the state agencies that are supposed to receive these documents.
Three deputy Ombudsmen filed just once in 2006, while five other officials, three to four years in a row.
Half of the eight officials with SALNs enrolled insufficient and vague data on the sources of their wealth other than their lawful incomes, thus offering few clues to explain their net worth.
PCIJ for more