Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has reconstituted the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) Review and Compliance Committee of the House of Representatives, in line with Republic Act 6713 and his earlier call to revisit the House’s guidelines on SALN disclosure.
Dy also fulfilled his promise of transparency by releasing his own SALN to the media on Wednesday.
In a memorandum order dated October 20, Dy designated Deputy Speaker and South Cotabato 2nd District Rep. Ferdinand Hernandez as chairperson of the committee, with Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor and Marikina 2nd District Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo as vice chairpersons.
Committee members include TGP Party-list Rep. Jose “Bong” Teves Jr., Tarlac 2nd District Rep. Maria Cristina Angeles, Quezon 1st District Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, Ilocos Norte 2nd District Rep. Angelo Barba, and Dinagat Islands Lone District Rep. Arlene Bag-ao.
The committee’s Secretariat will consist of senior officials from the Legal Affairs, Legislative Operations, and Administrative Departments, the Office of the Secretary General, the Committee on Rules, and the Records Management Service, along with a representative from the Office of the Speaker.
The move comes after Dy announced plans to review the House’s rules on the public disclosure of members’ SALNs to promote transparency and accountability.
In a radio interview on October 15, Dy said most lawmakers are open to making their SALNs public once again. He added that Congress “should consider returning to the practice” of allowing public inspection of lawmakers’ financial disclosures.
