The Office of the Ombudsman is open to revising a circular that restricts public access to the net worth statements of government officials, according to a congressman.
Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Romeo M. Jalosjos, Jr., who sponsored the Ombudsman’s 2022 budget, told a House of Representatives hearing on Friday the Ombudsman was open to changes suggested by lawmakers.
“The Ombudsman is open for revision of Circular No. 1,” he told fellow congressmen.
The memo limits the release of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of public officials to authorized representatives of the official or if the request is either upon a lawful order of a court or for a fact-finding investigation by the Ombudsman.
Party-list Rep. France L. Castro earlier urged the Ombudsman to review or revoke the memo for being illegal. — Russell Louis C. Ku