DO you want more transparency in government? Do you want to unmask corrupt officials? Implementation this year of new requirements in state workers’ Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) could improve transparency and accountability in government service.
Inclusion of the spouse’s properties, including that paraphernal type –meaning property one brings to the marriage or acquires even after marriage, especially inheritance — and that of children below 18 years of age living in the filer’s household.
The use of acquisition cost for computation purposes. While all assets of minor children and the spouse should be listed, these will be excluded from computation. Also excluded is a spouse’s exclusive property if he/she files a separate SALN. (Insert)
Filers must now list GROSS INCOME from all sources and not just list down financial or business interests.
Filers must also submit personal and family expenses for the year, to include education and health costs, and the cost of vacations and other travel and big-ticket expenditures.
They must also submit ALL TAXES paid on all income/earningS whether through sale of properties, dividends, honorarium or regular income
In a telephone interview, CSC Director for Legal Services Ariel Ronquillo said the old SALN form did not require Garcia to list properties belonging to his spouse.
“That was the defect of the old form, pwede talagang mapaglaruan,” Ronquillo said. “You could not use it to detect graft and corruption or detect lifestyle anomalies.”
Now, with the portion on family expenses, it will be easier for probers to detect if a filer is lying about lifestyle.
“It will encourage everybody to be transparent about their assets and discourage corruption anomalies. This form can serve as evidence,” Ronquillo added.
The most important change, however, is the inclusion of tax payments in the SALN.
Ronquillo said it would make it easier to check for false declaration, whether for acquisition cost or income/profit from a business transaction.
The prosecution panel in the on-going impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renator Corona has asked Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares to submit the income tax return of the country’s highest judge, his wife and children. The prosecution is trying to prove that Corona was not honest in his SALN declarations. It has accused the Chief Justice of withholding several properties from his SALN. Prosecution lawyers hope Henares could validate their claims.
New SALN form: income, expenses and taxes
‘HARMONIZING’ LAWS
“We did not reinvent the wheel,” Ronquillo stressed. He pointed out that Republic Act 3019, or the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act of 1960, already mandated the inclusion of all incomes and expenses and taxes in the SALNs of government.
RA 3019 provision on SALN
The CSC studied RA 3019 and RA 6713, which amended it.
Ronquillo said conventional wisdom presumed RA 6713 revised the requirements of the SALN.
“Our study shows there was no revision. The new law never repealed this section. What we did was to harmonize the two laws.”
The CSC had earlier drafted a baseline form, a one-time document, and an annual declaration, but eventually scrapped these. The new form, Ronquillo said, is more “filer-friendly.”
One concern is the disclosure of taxes, which could give officials some security nightmares.
But Ronquillo said, “I do not know why you should hide or conceal the amount of taxes you pay. Why not be transparent and accurate? It’s best for the country.”
Will scalawags in government be afraid of the new SALN? Maybe not, if they’ve enjoyed impunity for decades. But it could make the job of catching them easier.
You don’t need to be a genius to understand the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of a government official. The formula is simple: Assets – Liabilities = Net Worth.
What these terms include are clearly stated in Republic Act 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. The implementing rules of RA 6713 break down “Assets” into the following categories:
(a) real property, its improvements, acquisition costs, assessed value, and current fair market value;
(b) personal property and acquisition costs;
(c) all other assets such as investments, cash on hand or in banks, stocks, bonds, and the like
“Liabilities” is more general, simply stating:
(d) All financial liabilities, both current and long-term.
‘Asset’
Assets and liabilities — what SALN should contain
Real property includes land, the house or houses that stand on it, condominium units or any building (or a portion thereof) one owns.
Ideally, there should be very little difference between the assessed value and the fair market value. This would allow governments to collect the proper amount of property taxes.
But assessed values often lag way behind fair market values. It takes a while for LGUs to catch up with rising property values.
It is also not surprising to see sellers and buyers of real property under-declare the selling/buying price. They put a figure closer to the assessed value to minimize their capital gains tax (the difference between your acquisition cost and the price you place on the property for sale). That form of corruption is a private sector specialty.
Note that the SALN form under RA 6713 – which has been around for decades –includes the acquisition cost and the cost of any improvements on one’s property. Many government employees have been privileged to purchase original homes in state-owned housing projects. Many subdivisions may have featured modest structures in their original state, but they now display multi-million structures. (You can also go through any number of low-cost housing subdivisions and discover the sometimes amazing transformation on the houses of hard-working overseas Filipino workers.)
Personal property would include:
Jewelry (Have you seen the bling-blings on some cops or on certain employees of the Bureau of Customs?)
Expensive electronic gadgets (Yes, your Ipad and any of those power Macs – depending on the model, their cost could be triple a government employee’s monthly income!)
Vehicles (The four-wheel drives at the port area would put any plush village to shame)
Other assets, I suppose, would also include time-shares and the like.
‘Liability’
Liability, whether personal or business-related, refers to debts or obligations you incur from services hired and transacted, the purchase of new property, or special investment plans. This includes loans, accounts payable, mortgages. Property taxes owned to an LGU could be considered a liability.
Other things that could be considered liabilities are payments owed for, say, your child’s education plan, your family burial plots; a retirement plan over and above the state-covered programs. These things, however, should also be declared as assets, with the proper value and cost of acquisition.
In business spreadsheets, liabilities are lumped as “current” (debts payable within one year) or “long-term.” The form that comes with the implementing rules of RA 6713, however, doesn’t go into these distinctions.
In his 2002 SALN, Corona listed only three properties: donated land and constructed house dating from the 1970s and land purchased in 1992, a total value of more than P10 million.
Just a cursory read of that year’s SALN gives you an idea why folks with disposable income prefer to land bank or invest in real property. (It also makes you wonder how much the QC government lost through the years by not updating their land valuation.)
The 70’s land gift had jumped in value from just a little more than P50,000 (granted, a big amount in the 70s) to P5 million.
Land has become an even more lucrative investment lately. In just ten years, the value of a plot of land purchased in 1992 grew from P30,000 to P3 million.
Corona’s SALNs have a curious way of suddenly displaying properties purchased earlier than the declared year. His 2003 SALN shows a property purchased in 2002 by installment; the 1992 land, previously declared as purchase, sprouted “installment” under mode of acquisition.
Corona’s 2010 SALN has a 2004 condominium purchase absent from all other previous SALNs.
None of these properties are indicated in the liability section. The only liability Corona lists in 2oo3 is an P11 million loan acquired from his wife family’s company. By 2010, he had paid back his debt to the missus’ firm and was back at zero liabilities.
How to fill up the SALN
We asked accountants, government auditors and tax lawyers to show how property bought by installment should appear on the SALN.
The answer, across the board, is that the property should be listed under Assets (with the right value) and then, minus downpayment, the balance (factoring in the value of whatever interest you’ve agreed to pay) should be listed on the Liability section.
For example, if you purchase a P2-million house but have only paid P200,000 on it, here’s what it represents:
House (installment) P2-million under assets
P1.8 million (house loan or mortgage) under Liabilities
So, let’s do an exercise. Imagine scaRRedcat as a government employee filing a 2008 SALN. She has the following properties:
Real property:
House and lot in Sta. Rosa, purchased 2005, for P2.5 million, installment – paid a P500,000 down and pay annually P150,000.
Condo in Makati purchased in 2000 for P1.2 million, installment – paid a P200,000 down and pay annually P30,000
Other property:
Multi-media editing equipment, purchased 2007 for P800,000, installment – paid a P200,000 down and need to pay P60,000 annually
Car for P400,000 in 2003, installment — downpayment of P75,000 with annual payment of P40,000
scaRRedcat needs to list the Sta Rosa house under Assets and — subtracting the P500,000 downpayment in 2005 and the annual payments for three years or P450,000 — place its mortgage under liabilities at P1,550,000. The same formula goes for the other properties.
Here’s what scaRRedcat’s SALN should look like:
Strictly for excercise purpose. So similarity to any existing SALN.
Strictly for exercise purposes. No similarity to any particular SALN implied.
Checks and balance
What would scaRRedcat’s SALN tell government auditors?
Since 1994, SALNs needed to include an official’s income and business interests, including those of spouses and unmarried children below 18 yrs old.
Suppose in 2008, scaRRedcat was earning P40,000 – executive pay by government standards. She doesn’t detail the monthly installments on the various mortgages in her name. But auditors can always compare the 2008 SALN with those from previous years and learn how much in mortgage she pays annually/monthly.
So, can a civil servant who earns P40,000 a month afford P280,000 worth of annual mortgage payments? scaRRedcat is earning at least P520,000 a year (including 13th month pay, excluding other bonuses).
If scaRRedcat is single, she can probably afford the mortgage payments (barely). She could, of course, be a trust fund baby (like, say, former senator Jamby Madrigal).
What if she’s married with three kids, two in college and one in high school?
That’s why the income and business interest statements are important. If scaRRedcat happens to be married to a senior executive of a multinational corporation, or an overseas contract worker in one of the more lucrative markets, those mortgage payments are a reasonable expense.
If, however, her husband is out of work, or barely earns a minimum wage – or, if she is a single parent with no other extra source of income, then auditors are going to look closer.
The logical step after looking at the income and business interest statements is checking the employee’s ITR.
But, unless ordered by a court (or an impeachment court, in the case of Corona), there’s no way to get hold of a full income tax picture. At the most, what government auditors will have is an ITR based on withholding taxes – only for her government job. Any taxes paid on income from business, from trust funds will need to be volunteered.
Had Corona’s SALN contained all his sources of income and acquisition costs, he would probably have an easier time today explaining his acquisition of properties. (Actually, a Chief Justice should divest of active business interests and keep the money in a blind trust.)
After all, the law states that you do not just file on time. Its implementing rules clearly mandate what your SALN should include. Even an admirer of the Chief Justice has only to scan his SALNs and acknowledge that deficient is the least you can call these documents.
Think of it as a journey. We don’t have to all start at a single point. And, hey, we don’t even have to agree on the endpoint either. But if enough of us shower each other with goodwill and face the road, the ups and downs of it, with good humor and cheer, then it will be a trip worth living for.
“In a way that perhaps those behind the line could not hope to imagine: it is the invitation to start a conversation with ourselves and those outside the Philippines; it is the opening of an invitation without an RSVP.
It is also a challenge to us, Filipinos, to look into ourselves, as citizens, as a people, as a culture, as a nation–to look at why, despite government inefficiency and corruption, stinky toilets and bad airports, mind-numbing traffic, poverty, homelessness, landlessness and, for some, hopelessness, it is more fun in the Philippines.
For me, it is our SMILES–those that start and end with our eyes. It is our HUMOR–that which allows us to giggle, snicker, snort, or belly-laugh our way through everything the universe may throw at us (and it has thrown a lot our way). It is the SONGS that we sing–those which express our spirit and our soul; whether these be songs of protest, songs of hope, songs of love or even, or maybe especially, that song which inevitably ends videoke sessions anywhere in the Philippines, “My Way”, it is the way that we invest ourselves into the songs that we sing. It is our SPIRIT–that which starts and ends bloodless revolutions and endures stupid governments and allows us to carry the hope that one day we will have meaningful change by Filipinos for Filipinos everywhere in the world. It is our SOUL–that which weaves passion and compassion together with love of God, country and people.
It is all these together that makes the difference.
In the way that “Wow, Philippines!” started the conversation but never got to finish it, this new campaign attempts to jumpstart that conversation in the same vein and invites us, who know and love the Philippines, to complete the sentence. And, that’s part of the fun.”
That, girls and boys, is the best of the Filipino. Not just the humor, but the goodwill. And the GENUINE belief in our people. And trust; never forget trust.
Trust means opening ears and hearts, taking the extra step of trying to see where the other is coming from. Because once we start slapping people down for dissenting, it’s not just the end of fun but possibly the beginning of the end of democracy.
It is not tolerance for abuse that Ted espouses. It is not an invitation for us to be doormats. What he shows is the courage of belief in the rightness one one’s view. He trusts that we will all come together and talk and maybe disagree but have fun while we’re at it. And he needn’t bamboozle anyone just to prove his vision of fun is really fun.
So there are spoilsports? So what? The moment we allow people to spoil our fun, ayayayayay. Blow them a kiss. A wink. And sashay away in style.
And so, in honor of Ted’sTalk, here’s what I can do to show ItsMoreFuninThePhilippines:
1) Post a different smiling face everyday on my Facebook page and my Twitter account. It won’t just show itsmorefuninthephilippines; it will just make life more fun, period.
2) Say good morning/afternoon/evening to the people in the elevator, the guards at the office.
3) Always say please to anyone, to waiters, and salespeople and harried airport receptionists. And cops, never forget them.
4) And never forget to say, thank you!
5) Gently but firmly call out to people who break into lines, or people who litter. And make sure I don’t do the same!
6) Just say No to any hint of a bribe, even after waiting a gazillion hours in line. Aaaah, but also firmly call out government (and private) workers sleeping/chatting/manicuring/peddling on the job)
7) Encourage the organization and running of neighborhood libraries. Spare a few hundreds from book or shoe-shopping money every month to buy books for children who’d otherwise never get to open one. Volunteer an hour or two to monitor the library and read to them and just generally talk about life with the kids; god know what I’d learn from them. Rope in a friend and cousin a sibling and ask them to rope in the same number. Can you imagine how many people can help out? Can you imagine how many minds set free to dream?
8) Document the inspiring and the good. But never forgetting to document that which needs to be changed, too! The easiest way to end fun is by sweeping dirt under the carpet. It’ll get back at us. Always.
9) Praise where due. And fight for the things that matter.
10) Never take myself too seriously. Never. Ever. 🙂
And never forget that before we turn it to be a fun place for others, we have to make it fun for us.
Kumusta na, Kuya Jose? Ilang gurls na ba uli ang nabihag mo dyan, ha? 🙂 Biro lang po!
Unahan na kita. Heto pa din kami, urong-sulong. Minsa’y, bukal ng kadakilaan, minsan talaga namang pasaway. Namamayagpag pa din ang mga apo ng mga prayle, nakikinabang pa din ang mga kaanak ng mga comprador at panginoong maylupa. Kumikinang pa din ang palamuti at alahas ng mga batang Donya Victorina habang sila’y paluha na hawak-kamay sa mga nasalangtang mahihirap.
Ang masa naman ay minsa’y handa mag-rebelde, minsan nama’y mas gustuhin gumiling-giling na lamang sa telebisyon ng makakuha ng jackpot. Yung mga rebelde naman kasi, kung di nagkakaraoke kasama ng bold star ang mga pinuno, busy sa pagpaplano ng mga krimeng pantustos sa kanilang dakilang adhika-in. Hindi naman lahat, ha. Meron din naman diyang na matino at tunay na nagmamahal sa masa sa kabila ng hirap at takot at kalungkutan. Naniniwala naman akong nagsisimula ang lahat sa magandang adhika-in, maliban na lang kung sumapi para makibahagi na din sa KFR proceeds ni t’yong.
Pero, Kuya, paano naman kasi, buong kabataan nila ay wala nang nagawa kundi lumikas mula sa isang baryo patungo sa kabila, mula sakahan papuntang simbahan o eskwela, nakamasid na lamang habang sumasayaw ang apoy sa kanilang kabahayan o umuulan ng bomba ang kalangitan. Kuya, ganoon pa din. Karamihan ng mga sundalo galing din sa mahirap; ganoon din sa rebelde. Tapos sila-sila ang magpapatayan habang ang mga pinuno nila magkikita-kita sa mga magarang hotel o restawran at paikot-ikot na lamang sa kanilang 4×4. Da Gwardya Sibil lives! Ganoon din ang mga wa-is na dumedo sa kaibigang mong si Boni.
Alam mo, Kuya, minsan iniisip ko, ano kaya kung di namatay si Elias? Pero siguro, wala ding kaiba yun. Sa dami-dami ng mga dakilang nag-right turn at, hayun, nagsilbi sa mga gahaman, sinungaling at mapang-abuso. May kulot ang buhok, may kalbo, may mestiza, may payat, may tabatsoy. Aba, eh meron pang iba, hanep sa pakitang gilas — nasa Palasyo na, feeling partisano pa din; umiikot ba namang may dalang Uzi. Pero iba na nga ang buhay ni ‘pre at may tagabit-bit na ngayon ng baril.
Minsan, parang iniisip ko, tama yung Prances (nga ba?) na nagsabing pag bente anyos ka at di ka komunista wala kang puso, pero pag kwarenta na at komunista pa din, la kang utak. Pero heto ako, di nga komunista (kahit noon siguro, hindi talaga; aba, eh, mas type ko si Lonely Goatherd kay sa Internationale) — pero nasa bandang kaliwa pa din pag-pinagusapan ang pagbabahagi ng yaman ng bansa. Mas madalas nga lang ngayong manawagan sa mga kababayan na bumuhat din naman sila ng iilang bato para di malunod ng tuluyan ang barkong Pinas.
Eh, may mga bagong grupong sumusulpot, hetong anti-Pinoy. Ang gagaling mag-sulat, ang gagaling gumawa ng video. Kaso nga lang, wala pakundangang lumait sa kapwa Pinoy. Iniisip ko nga, hala, eh, teka muna, galit lang kayo kay PNOY, sinama nyo na ang sambayanan! Siguro kasi, feeling nila, “kasalanan nyong lahat na nagboto sa kanya.” Di ako kasali dyan, pero nalulungkot akong makita ang talino at galing na malustay lamang sa pango-okray sa iba. Madami naman sa kanilang sinasabi ay totoo, yung modo lang ng sermon ang nakaka-rindi. At kahit tama lang na puntiryahin ang mga maling nagagawa ng isang gobyerno, wari ko’y mas maganda kung kalahati man lang ng yamang pumupunta sa produksyon nila magamit para mas positibong pag-tulong sa masa.
Kuya, di ko alam kung anong polyeto o nobela ang susulatin nyo nina Plaridel at Lolo Ciano kung nadito kayo at nakikisaw-saw sa gulo namin. Sino kaya ang gagawa ng spoof tungkol sa mga mahistradong naka-biolet o mga senador namang naka toga ng masilaw na pula? Sino ang tatayo sa Plaza Miranda at magwa-warning na hindi pwedeng iligtas ang demokrasya habang ito nama’y paulit-ulit mong sinasaksak? Sino kaya sa inyo ang magpa-Palparan-hunting? At sino ang magkakaladkad sa isang frustrated aktor na abogado na gustong angkining tatay si Hitler?
Nakalimutan ko si PNOY! Na tulad mo, Kuya, ay mahilig din sa chicks. At tulad mo, ay lagi na lang sawi. (Ang mas totoo yata ay, tulad mo, lagi na lang nabo-bore sa chick of da moment.) Nakakatuwa itong si PNOY. Alam mo, lagi akong may tinutuligsa sa polisiya nya. May mga araw na nagigimbal ako. Pero pag tumingin ako sa paligid at nakikita ko yung pag-asa sa mata ng kapwa, naiintindihan ko kung saan yan nanggagaling. May mga taong galit na kung anu-ano ang tawag sa kanya. Pero ako, tuwing manood ako na magsalita sya, napapangiti ako … magaling talaga, may pinagmanahan sa pagtatalumpati. At nakaka-impress kasi mas magaling sya kapag sa kanya galing ang mga salita, kapag extempo sya, at di nalulunod sa kabalbalang pinapasok ng kanyang mga script writer. Minsan gustong kong sumigaw, “ano ba! Hindi naman yan si Great Lider! Si PNOY yan, yung nagyoyosi kasama mga drayber (bagay, kahit konyo basta kailangan bumuga, makikihalobilo sa drayber.)
Sana’y wag nyang talikuran ang mga Bosing nya — at sana ngayo’y naka hospital arrest na ang kanyang kunamumuhi-an, eh atupagin nya naman ang ibang gawain ng lider. Gamitin nya sana ang kanyang tagumpay para isulong ang tunay na reporma sa ekonomiya at isulong ang social justice. Ang dami na din kasing nasayang na panahon. Ilang dekadang sayang. May sikreto ako, pero wag mong sasabihin kay PNOY, kuya ha? Alam mo, mas gugustuhin kong tumigil sa pagiingay at iligpit na ang bolpen at computer at manahimik na lamang kasama ng mga libro ko at mga CD at mga apo, kung ang katumbas nyan ay isang mapayapang, maunlad na bansa. (Hmmm, balang araw, magja-jamming din kami ni NoyP!)
Ganyan din siguro kayong propagandista ano? Looking forward to the day when there is no longer a reason for being 🙂 Eeek! May tumawa sa likod ko. Ilusyonada daw ako. Kung nagtagumpay man daw ang revo nyo, maghahanap pa din kayong tatlo nga gulo. At ganoon din daw ako. Pare-pareho daw tayo ang middle name Trouble. Haaay, Kuya, sige na, mag-party ka na. Wag kalimutang mag-post sa Facebook!!! Hapi-hapi aniv ng kadakilaan!!!! Here’s to the gurls!!!!
labs,
kuting (PS wag nang mag-sermon sa Tagalog ni Bisaya, ha? 🙂 Mwah!)
Kumusta na, Kuya Jose? Ilang gurls na ba uli ang nabihag mo dyan, ha? 🙂 Biro lang po!
Unahan na kita. Heto pa din kami, urong-sulong. Minsa’y, bukal ng kadakilaan, minsan talaga namang pasaway. Namamayagpag pa din ang mga apo ng mga prayle, nakikinabang pa din ang mga kaanak ng mga comprador at panginoong maylupa. Kumikinang pa din ang palamuti at alahas ng mga batang Donya Victorina habang sila’y paluha na hawak-kamay sa mga nasalangtang mahihirap.
Ang masa naman ay minsa’y handa mag-rebelde, minsan nama’y mas gustuhin gumiling-giling na lamang sa telebisyon ng makakuha ng jackpot. Yung mga rebelde naman kasi, kung di nagkakaraoke kasama ng bold star ang mga pinuno, busy sa pagpaplano ng mga krimeng pantustos sa kanilang dakilang adhika-in. Hindi naman lahat, ha. Meron din naman diyang na matino at tunay na nagmamahal sa masa sa kabila ng hirap at takot at kalungkutan. Naniniwala naman akong nagsisimula ang lahat sa magandang adhika-in, maliban na lang kung sumapi para makibahagi na din sa KFR proceeds ni t’yong.
Pero, Kuya, paano naman kasi, buong kabataan nila ay wala nang nagawa kundi lumikas mula sa isang baryo patungo sa kabila, mula sakahan papuntang simbahan o eskwela, nakamasid na lamang habang sumasayaw ang apoy sa kanilang kabahayan o umuulan ng bomba ang kalangitan. Kuya, ganoon pa din. Karamihan ng mga sundalo galing din sa mahirap; ganoon din sa rebelde. Tapos sila-sila ang magpapatayan habang ang mga pinuno nila magkikita-kita sa mga magarang hotel o restawran at paikot-ikot na lamang sa kanilang 4×4. Da Gwardya Sibil lives! Ganoon din ang mga wa-is na dumedo sa kaibigang mong si Boni.
Alam mo, Kuya, minsan iniisip ko, ano kaya kung di namatay si Elias? Pero siguro, wala ding kaiba yun. Sa dami-dami ng mga dakilang nag-right turn at, hayun, nagsilbi sa mga gahaman, sinungaling at mapang-abuso. May kulot ang buhok, may kalbo, may mestiza, may payat, may tabatsoy. Aba, eh meron pang iba, hanep sa pakitang gilas — nasa Palasyo na, feeling partisano pa din; umiikot ba namang may dalang Uzi. Pero iba na nga ang buhay ni ‘pre at may tagabit-bit na ngayon ng baril.
Minsan, parang iniisip ko, tama yung Prances (nga ba?) na nagsabing pag bente anyos ka at di ka komunista wala kang puso, pero pag kwarenta na at komunista pa din, la kang utak. Pero heto ako, di nga komunista (kahit noon siguro, hindi talaga; aba, eh, mas type ko si Lonely Goatherd kay sa Internationale) — pero nasa bandang kaliwa pa din pag-pinagusapan ang pagbabahagi ng yaman ng bansa. Mas madalas nga lang ngayong manawagan sa mga kababayan na bumuhat din naman sila ng iilang bato para di malunod ng tuluyan ang barkong Pinas.
Eh, may mga bagong grupong sumusulpot, hetong anti-Pinoy. Ang gagaling mag-sulat, ang gagaling gumawa ng video. Kaso nga lang, wala pakundangang lumait sa kapwa Pinoy. Iniisip ko nga, hala, eh, teka muna, galit lang kayo kay PNOY, sinama nyo na ang sambayanan! Siguro kasi, feeling nila, “kasalanan nyong lahat na nagboto sa kanya.” Di ako kasali dyan, pero nalulungkot akong makita ang talino at galing na malustay lamang sa pango-okray sa iba. Madami naman sa kanilang sinasabi ay totoo, yung modo lang ng sermon ang nakaka-rindi. At kahit tama lang na puntiryahin ang mga maling nagagawa ng isang gobyerno, wari ko’y mas maganda kung kalahati man lang ng yamang pumupunta sa produksyon nila magamit para mas positibong pag-tulong sa masa.
Kuya, di ko alam kung anong polyeto o nobela ang susulatin nyo nina Plaridel at Lolo Ciano kung nadito kayo at nakikisaw-saw sa gulo namin. Sino kaya ang gagawa ng spoof tungkol sa mga mahistradong naka-biolet o mga senador namang naka toga ng masilaw na pula? Sino ang tatayo sa Plaza Miranda at magwa-warning na hindi pwedeng iligtas ang demokrasya habang ito nama’y paulit-ulit mong sinasaksak? Sino kaya sa inyo ang magpa-Palparan-hunting? At sino ang magkakaladkad sa isang frustrated aktor na abogado na gustong angkining tatay si Hitler?
Nakalimutan ko si PNOY! Na tulad mo, Kuya, ay mahilig din sa chicks. At tulad mo, ay lagi na lang sawi. (Ang mas totoo yata ay, tulad mo, lagi na lang nabo-bore sa chick of da moment.) Nakakatuwa itong si PNOY. Alam mo, lagi akong may tinutuligsa sa polisiya nya. May mga araw na nagigimbal ako. Pero pag tumingin ako sa paligid at nakikita ko yung pag-asa sa mata ng kapwa, naiintindihan ko kung saan yan nanggagaling. May mga taong galit na kung anu-ano ang tawag sa kanya. Pero ako, tuwing manood ako na magsalita sya, napapangiti ako … magaling talaga, may pinagmanahan sa pagtatalumpati. At nakaka-impress kasi mas magaling sya kapag sa kanya galing ang mga salita, kapag extempo sya, at di nalulunod sa kabalbalang pinapasok ng kanyang mga script writer. Minsan gustong kong sumigaw, “ano ba! Hindi naman yan si Great Lider! Si PNOY yan, yung nagyoyosi kasama mga drayber (bagay, kahit konyo basta kailangan bumuga, makikihalobilo sa drayber.)
Sana’y wag nyang talikuran ang mga Bosing nya — at sana ngayo’y naka hospital arrest na ang kanyang kunamumuhi-an, eh atupagin nya naman ang ibang gawain ng lider. Gamitin nya sana ang kanyang tagumpay para isulong ang tunay na reporma sa ekonomiya at isulong ang social justice. Ang dami na din kasing nasayang na panahon. Ilang dekadang sayang. May sikreto ako, pero wag mong sasabihin kay PNOY, kuya ha? Alam mo, mas gugustuhin kong tumigil sa pagiingay at iligpit na ang bolpen at computer at manahimik na lamang kasama ng mga libro ko at mga CD at mga apo, kung ang katumbas nyan ay isang mapayapang, maunlad na bansa. (Hmmm, balang araw, magja-jamming din kami ni NoyP!)
Ganyan din siguro kayong propagandista ano? Looking forward to the day when there is no longer a reason for being 🙂 Eeek! May tumawa sa likod ko. Ilusyonada daw ako. Kung nagtagumpay man daw ang revo nyo, maghahanap pa din kayong tatlo nga gulo. At ganoon din daw ako. Pare-pareho daw tayo ang middle name Trouble. Haaay, Kuya, sige na, mag-party ka na. Wag kalimutang mag-post sa Facebook!!! Hapi-hapi aniv ng kadakilaan!!!! Here’s to the gurls!!!!
labs,
kuting (PS wag nang mag-sermon sa Tagalog ni Bisaya, ha? 🙂 Mwah!)
SECRETARY SONNY COLOMA was all over news and social media sites Tuesday, December 27.
Money for new homes for Iligan City residents
There was the Presidential Communications Operations Office chief with Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman and Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz at the turnover of P242 million to rebuild homes washed away by Typhoon Sendong’s floods. (Hurricane Washi)
There he was, in a huddle with Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno, discussing rehabilitation plans for Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. There was even a photo of Coloma in a walkabout of devastated CDO as he led Pilipinas Natin volunteers in relief operations.
The stench of death still wafts over CDO and Iligan and Valencia, in Negros Oriental. Bodies continue to be recovered. The latest eight, believed to be from Iligan, were found in the waters of Sibutad town, Zamboanga del Norte, some 200 kms away from ground zero.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council puts the death count at 1,257. Some organizations place it closer to 1,500.
Tuesday, I barely glanced at those photos and video clips. Now, I can’t help but stare at these and wonder:
As he strolled around these two cities where a thousand died, crushed by debris and churning currents unleashed by Sendong’s torrential rains, did Coloma ponder the role he played in the carnage? A second question also niggles at the mind: Did he even care?
The dead in Iligan City, original file by Bayan Patroller Mark Nambatac
Even as he posed for the cameras, Coloma – one of President Beningo Aquino III’s three communications secretaries – was silent on the failure of a much-heralded disaster mass alert system.
In the immediate aftermath of Sendong, Coloma had been silent, too, except to help excoriate local government officials; this, as charges of neglect and incompetence flew back and forth from ground zero and the Malacanang.
The government has spent the last two weeks insisting it had given ample warning to local government units.
WHO WARNED WHOM?
This report will focus on CDO and Iligan, where most of the contradicting reports on warnings or the lack thereof come from.
“Wala naman talagang sinabi na ganoon ang mangyayari,” Emano said in an interview with dzMM. “Kami ang tinamaan ng mata ng bagyo, hindi na po sinabi yan.”
“Wala pong nagsabi na ganito ang darating na bagyo sa amin, wala man lang bulletin, wala man lang nakapagsabi na we will be in the eye of the storm,” he added.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) head Benito Ramos said CDO and Iligan were not prepared because they are not usually visited by strong typhoons.
“Hindi eto damay sa usual na path,” Ramos said. “Ang usual na path n’ya ay Central Visayas. Kung hagip ang Central Mindanao, ang experience ng ating mga kababayan d’yan, ang pinakamataas na ay 60-millimeters ng tubig na madala ng bagyo.”
Ramos has always insisted, however, that neither the NDRRMC nor Pag-asa were remiss in issuing warnings. Let’s work backwards from yesterday.
Coloma issued a statement after telecommunications companies, Smart and Globe, pointed out the government could have saved lives had it used the emergency alert system.
There are two things in Coloma’s statement that struck me:
He said the government did not use the alert system in CDO and Iligan cities on December 16 because these areas were under typhoon signal number one and “below the threshold alert level of signal number three.”
He said the system works and that government had used it to warn Bulacan residents of floods spawned by Typhoon Pedring in September
TIMELINE
Late last night, Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III, also of the Communications Office of the President but dealing with strategic messaging, forwarded the Timeline of warnings by Pag-asa and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDCRRMC). Quezon had promised that timeline on December 18, when he was bring grilled on Twitter over allegations that government had failed to warn CDO and Iligan of incoming floods. Quezon valiantly defended Malacañang, providing a flood of messages to prove that warnings had, indeed, been given. But that’s for the next blog.
Let’s first examine Coloma’s statement. The Pag-asa/NDRRMC Timeline shows this update for 5 am of December 16:
5:00AM: Severe Weather Bulletin No. 4 – 300 km East Southeast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur (Signal No. 2 @ Leyte, Camotes, Bohol, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Siargao, Dinagat, Agusan, Misamis Oriental, Camiguin, Bukidnon, Davao del Norte, Compostela, Samal, Davao Oriental. Signal No. 1 @ Sorsogon, Ticao, Masbate, Samar, Panay, Guimaras, Negros, Cebu, Siquijor and Biliran, North Cotabato, Northern Davao Del Sur, Lanao Provinces, Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga Provinces)
Mr. Coloma, Cagayan de Oro is the capital of Misamis Oriental. Iligan City technically belongs to Lanao del Norte, but anyone who has visited it knows it is just an hour and a half away from CDO. No, Mr. Coloma, the excuse doesn’t wash.
MAP of CDO and surrounding areas, including Iligan
As for the alert system being used in Bulacan, that province was not under Signal #3 during Typhoon Pedring. Public Storm Signal No. 3 covered Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Northern Quezon, including Polillo Island, Aurora, Quirino, and Isabela. Bulacan was under Signal #2, with Albay, Burias Island, Sorsogon, rest of Quezon, Rizal, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Benguet, Mt. Province, Kalinga, and Cagayan.
Again, Coloma’s statement doesn’t stand-up to scrutiny.
It is curious that Coloma makes much of the public storm warning level. A Google search of the MOA between the government and the telco firms digs up a transcript of a briefing Coloma himself presided. Here’s what he said:
“What brought us together in this partnership? You will recall that a few days after the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, a hoax text message spread like a virus and created a lot of anxiety regarding possible radiation from the nuclear leak in Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant. Days after the President was nearing the end of his state visit to Singapore, the government issued a tsunami evacuation alert in the aftermath of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan. In October 2010, PAGASA [Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration] correctly predicted the coming of super typhoon, Juan, which greatly minimized the number of casualties. We still remember vividly the widespread damage and lost of life brought about by tyhpoons Ondoy and Pepeng in September and October 2009 which caught many citizens unprepared. In response to the challenges posed by the foregoing illustrative events, the major TELCOS [telecommunication companies] have volunteered to support the government through the timely broadcast of text messages—of accurate text messages to their subscribers.”
Mr. Coloma, Metro Manila was under Signal #2 when Ondoy ripped through many of our cities. Do you even do your homework? With so many of our brethren dead, the least you could do is double-check your facts as you defend a grievous sin of omission.
It started with a Twitter message that fanned a social media debate about the merits of partying while 20,000 families scrambled to find missing kin, food, water and shelter.
Journalist Marlon Ramos tweets about @v_concepcion's glee at Malacanang party Dec 18
Concepcion also appeals to Filipinos not to judge the President.
“I just want to clarify that I was invited to perform at Malacañang’s Christmas Party for their employees with their husbands/wives and kids. Yes, the president attended the gathering. I do not see anything wrong with that since its his obligation and responsibility being the head of Malacañang to be present and show his support for his hardworking employees and their respective families. But I believe that it doesn’t mean that the president is not thinking of ways to help our kababayan(s) in Mindanao. It doesn’t mean that the president is disregarding the plight of our fellow Filipinos. Let’s not be too quick to judge”
The second part of her message apologized for sounding “insensitive”. Concepcion said:
“But if I, in any way, offended you guys and sounded insensitive, I am very sorry. It wasn’t my intention to do either. I can’t imagine how difficult life is for the people affected in Mindanao and how difficult it is to be the president of the Philippines at this moment. Once again, I am very sorry for all those people I have offended. May God bless us all.” (Itals mine)
Here is a screenshot of that part of her message:
Screenshot of Valerie Concepcion's apology
The thing is, Concepcion doesn’t need to apologize. She is an entertainer. She was earning her living. Any performer would be darn pleased to have the President of the Republic chortling at her wit. Concepcion wasn’t the only performer. The singer, Jessa, was with her.
The debate icentered on two things: First, was it right for President Aquino to party on a day of collective keening and wailing and gnashing of teeth?
Majority of casualties come from the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. A large swathe of Negros Oriental’s area display damage that could take years to repair: a ship had slammed into land; farmlands and orchards were ruined; bridges were cut in half and roads were tipping into gorges.
Half of Cagayan de Oro looked like an inland sea. Iligan City had run out of coffins. The supply of potable water in the these two cities was 80% less than their residents’ needs. People milled on the streets begging for food, for something to quench their parched throats, for money.
Sendong was a typhoon of monstrous proportions, though its fury came from rains and not from heavy winds. By afternoon, the casualty and missing count had surpassed that of Ondoy, the 2009 storm that swamped a big part of Metro Manila.
Ondoy, which occured in November September, almost did in former President Gloria Arroyo. Many of Mr. Aquino’s followers, stunned by the setback after seeming improvements in weather forecasting and disaster management, believe cancellation of the party would not have helped the victims of Sendong.
They may have a point. Caterers and suppliers for any major party usually collect most, if not all, of what they’re owed before an event.
Critics, however, say that the party hosts should have asked for a refund and donated the cash to agencies helping the displaced families. Indeed, many parties being held across the country last night became aid sessions where cash was collected for Sendong’s victims. RockEd’s Gang Badoy tweeted of an actress who raised funds for badly needed drinking water.
Those who believe in Mr. Aquino, or who could not bear one more piece of bad news on a day full of despair, pointed out that there was no need for the President to do “photo-ops”. Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman was already orchestrating relief operations and the military and police were working heroically to rescue and retrieve typhoon victims.
That line of thought contrasts the incumbent Chief Executive with his much-maligned predecessor. Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now under hospital arrest on charges of electoral fraud, liked to be photographed presiding over disaster management conferences and distributing relief goods. Besides, Vice President Jejomar Binay was already doing the rounds of CDO and Iligan.
There is grandstanding. And then there is a genuine need for leadership gestures.
When 20,000 families are left homeless, when just about everyone in two provinces has lost a family member, classmate or friend, and homes and schools have been washed away, is it enough for the President to delegate the task of giving reassurance to subordinates?
Undersecretaries Manuel Quezon III and Abigail Valte are among the more likeable of Mr. Aquino’s communications staff. Quezon was on Twitter the whole day, calmly deflecting charges that Pag-asa (the weather forecaster) and the national disaster coordinating body had been sleeping on the job.
But Quezon and Valte are not the President. They are conduits of information. The vague replies to appeals for a presidential visit to ground zero disappointed many Filipinos who had spent two days whipping up a climate of sympathy and compassion for their southern brethren. It was late in the day when Malacaang announced the President would visit CDO and Iligan on Tuesday. As abs-cbnnews.com reports:
“In an interview with radio dzRB, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte only said the President “wants to make sure that national agencies and those on the ground have a concerted plan” in response to the crisis.
Aquino has been criticized in the past for not making his presence felt in provinces badly hit by typhoons.”
Charges of a cover-up were also hurled when Quezon replied to initial queries by saying the party of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) — the alleged party host — had been held Dec. 10.
Here’s a screen shot of Quezon’s initial replies though latter tweets show him agreeing to double check the date.
Screenshot of Manuel L Quezon's tweets re PSG party date
Quezon is not known for dishing out lies, so the possibility is he got confused — Filipinos take their prolonged Christmas season seriously and parties do start early in December — or he was fed wrong information. And maybe it wasn’t the PSG having a party Sunday night.
It is a mystery, however, that a simple fact of the President attending a party in his own backyard would result in hours of silence. Surely someone heard the music, the laughter?
Whether or not disaster officials had flopped with their tasks is an issue that will unravel in the next few days (and is the topic for the next blog).
With the President having singled out Pag-asa in his state of the nation address, and having repeatedly crowed of huge steps in disaster mitigation, it must have been galling to hear demands for the head of (the normally efficient) Undersecretary Yumol.
As critics love pointing out, Sendong showcased exactly the same woes that led to the peremptory firing of the former head of Pag-asa, Nilo Prisco. Prisco Nilo.
But that, perhaps, was not even on the minds of Sendong’s victims. What they needed was a personal reassurance from the country’s most powerful man — that things would get better, that they government would help them move on with their interrupted lives.
The President can be eloquent on occasion. Journalists have noticed — with some amount of chagrin — that when he speaks in pure Tagalog, he shoves aside the need for any filtering of his message.
The problem perhaps, is that Malacanang may not have realized that communication is a human need, not a weapon to be used in calibrated, calculated bites. Communication is part of a leader’s contract with his people. Communication can ease troubled waters — or churn them up like a hurricane.
That in a time of genuine crisis, the President did not reach out, is a major fumble. Not just because he failed to respond to a real need, but because he IS his own best spokesman.
(Many thanks to Kay Posadas and Jun Verzola for their quick eyes)
It takes a lot to make me mad. Having spent the last few decades in a job that gives one the luxury to dish it out, I’ve learned to bend backwards in the face of rudeness and bad behavior. We gotta know to take it, too.
Most of the criticism hurled this way has to do with politics and worldview: “Lefty,” “Commie”. Just a couple of months back, someone screamed, “gay lover!”
Yes, I told him. Menopause? Chemotherapy tends to do that.
I could have blasted him with a thousand and one grievous insults. But you don’t do that while administering a page with almost a hundred thousand users. Besides, his bomb was a dud. Menopause never bothered me; women friends in their 60s are still falling in and out of love!
It’s when insults and bad behavior come as social commentary that my cool is threatened. Someone who speculates that rape could have been caused by the victim’s choice of clothes will be told off – fast and hard.
We all agree that rape is a heinous crime. Yet some people joke about it. A friend in her early 30s broke down last year because a former neighbor – male – spotting a photo of her in a V-necked gown, thought he was paying a compliment in saying she was “fit to be raped.” She blocked him but decided against filing any complaint with Facebook or the authorities.
I’d love to say that only men display this kind of twisted logic. But when the woman called Nicole was verbally lynched in the days before and after her recantation of rape charges against Daniel Smith, some of the most vitriolic reactions on Facebook came from women.
Some, perhaps, were caused by disappointment after investing emotions and time in campaigning for Nicole’s cause. Some, however, were of the classic why-would-Smith-need-to-rape-her variety. Had these women never ever really gone bar-hopping? Had they never ever flirted, never ever tried some dirty dancing? And would they really give some man out there license to rape their daughters as punishment for getting drunk?
Emotionally charged debates are one thing.Most of gender-based violence on social media is perpetrated for very personal reasons.
An informal survey among younger friends indicates some common reasons: a spurned suitor or jealous lover, rage against someone who ought to behave in a more servile manner but won’t, or hatred for a rival.
One lawyer friend, in the heat of election fever, had some men actually threatening to rape her daughter. In the Hayden Kho case, the issue wasn’t just his sick penchant for taking sex videos of his unknowing victims. There was also the element of revenge for all the lovely young women seen as threats to the Queen Bee. In the southern city I call home, a squabble among artists featured accusations of STDs and attempts to tar someone a closet gay.
Even less scandalous incidents display troubling mindsets. On the FB page of a friend’s college-bound daughter, young men blithely explain away a pal’s failed suit as the result of the love object being a tibo. It makes you wonder what kind of upbringing creates youth who think only a “sexual deviant” (their term) would turn them down. Yet on the same page, young women openly talk about trying to flirt with their male theology instructor and then chalking up his resistance to kabadingan.
My friend got fed up and shipped off her unica hija to the United State,s only to bring her back the following year after seeing even worse behavior there by new friends.
Even those of us who ought to know better will forget and slip up. I am not always the most politically correct person, having “grown up” in the profession among alpha males who thought women were best toughened up by being subjected to all kinds of green jokes and ribald commentary. Some of us who survived that did so by giving as good as we got – probably more; one mentor used to moan that our one-upmanship robbed him of fun.
It was fun – sorry, but it was that, too – until we realized that not everyone enjoyed the bantering that we rabble-rousers took as a badge of belonging. It took tears from a colleague to sober us up.
I have grown up since, enough to remind people to be conscious of different levels of tolerance – yes, using that word to refer to things that hurt is problematic. Some days I forget and dismiss complaints (usually directed at others) as old-fashioned, grim-n-determined behavior — even as news stories and results of studies and official admissions clearly show how dangerous cavalier attitudes can be.
Just last week, political friends were laughing at a video clip of Supreme Court spokesman Midas Marquez. Very few seemed to realize that jeering at that particular clip (whether genuine or fake) implied that Marquez was worthy of derision because he appeared gay. It was surprising so many gay activist friends let that pass.
I don’t remember what book said people who think themselves enlightened could perpetrate horrible deeds. But it’s true. By commission we do this; likewise, by omission. Nobody’s asking for perfection nor demanding we become saints. But us do-gooders should probably make a regular habit of facing the mirror.
When 115 journalists are murdered in a quarter century span, with less than a dozen cases leading to conviction — that is impunity.
When more than a thousand activists are slain over a decade, with hundreds still missing, and hardly anyone held accountable for these crimes – this is impunity.
When the President of a Republic hails a butcher of activists as her hero – this is impunity.
When military officers engaged in massive electoral fraud are promoted – this is impunity.
When radio stations are torched and bombed, when local government officials can storm a broadcast booth and beat up an anchor — that is impunity.
Impunity is the goal, the end — the god on whose altar victims are sacrificed.
Impunity is success gone mad. Impunity is a situation where you, demigod, are the only one left standing in democracy’s graveyard. Impunity is a paradise for tyrants and hell for the rest of us forced to choose between silence and a bullet.
In a perverse way, impunity is like a precocious child. It doesn’t spring from the air fully grown. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an entire society to breed impunity.
It is right that we hold butchers and their enablers accountable for their crimes. But we must go beyond that. We must look around, study past and present, review our own thoughts and actions, so that we can map our escape from impunity. For impunity is a monster with numerous tentacles. Until we learn to discern the roads that link to it, we will forever be running in place, writhing as the our nation slowly gives up its soul.
Here lies impunity…
When we fork over bribes or when we offer bribes to make life easier – there lies the road to impunity. Such enabling action only encourage those who think they are above the law.
When political leaders are silent on the abuses of their followers and allies because they may be needed in the next elections – there lies the road to impunity. When a politician looks the other way, you can be sure it has to do with a wish for his friends to do the same when he gets in trouble.
When politicians vote on the basis of pork – there lies the road to impunity. When politicians vote on the basis of partisan politics – there lies the road to impunity.
When political parties are shorn of ideological or political identities and simply merge and divide on pure profit motives – there lies the road to impunity.
When we refuse to engage in governance processes – there lies the road to impunity. It is easier to blow the whistle on plans of dubious integrity than chase after perpetrators when they have further lined their pockets and roped in new, hungry allies into their circle.
When we vote on the basis of what scraps are thrown the way of our clans, instead of what funds are invested into community development projects – there lies the road to impunity. If someone can afford to rain down coins on an entire village, it is because he or she has a vault filled with dirty cash.
When those who think themselves enlightened fulminate against the ‘ignorant’ masses but refuse to engage the same – there lies the road to impunity. When no alternative models are offered them, people will choose on pure survival instinct.
When those who think themselves enlightened rail against ignorance but refuse to aid the masses in getting a just deal from society and government – therein lies the road to impunity. The only chance you have against guns, goons and gold is the goodwill of the masses. That is earned by showing them you care. We laugh at them for mistaking alms as a sign of love, but it is a battle lost by default because of our refusal to invest time, brains and sweat in their gut issues and life-and-death causes.
When the incomes of Justices and the state’s highest auditors are beyond the pale of review – there lies the road to impunity. If we are to submit ourselves to the judgments of these men and women (for better or worse), we need to believe in them, need to see how they live away from the benches and the number-crunching machines.
When we see rebellion as an excuse to practice butchery and pogroms – there lies the road to impunity. Sympathy for a cause does not have to translate to blindness. You cannot wait for victory. Do that and come face to face with the triumphant gods of impunity.
When we allow the human rights of anyone, for any reason, to be violated by the state, when we ignore the fact that all states are vested with powers that need to be regulated by laws – there lies the road to impunity.
Impunity loves shortcuts. And there is no better time to review our practices than in an era of transition. Better to slog through a winding road and dismantle tangled barricades and defuse assorted landmines along the way. The alternative is a stampede that leads us back into impunity’s loving arms.
When a President borne to power on the promise of tuwid na daan reneges on a pledge to make freedom of information a priority of government, and suddenly finds a host of reasons to doubt what even his paranoid predecessor’s executives had grudgingly blessed — you open the gate once more to impunity. If you cannot see that impunity’s nemesis is transparency, if you do not understand that impunity thrives because all means are used to foil discovery of crimes, if you cannot even trust your people to handle a constitutional right…. aaaah, what else will you withhold from us tomorrow, the day after, the next year?
DO you want more transparency in government? Do you want to unmask corrupt officials? Implementation this year of new requirements in state workers’ Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) could improve transparency and accountability in government service.
indayvarona 