Malacañang has no hand on the Office of the Ombudsman’s handing down a memorandum circular ordering for tighter restrictions for people to get copies of government officials’ Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), an official said on Friday.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita denied that the Palace, at most, influenced Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to release such an order.

“The statement and position taken by the Ombudsman is their own,” Ermita told reporters after a budget hearing at the Senate.

“As you know, the Ombudsman is a separate body from the Executive. We cannot dictate on them what they want to say, what their policies are,” Ermita further said.

“So, I wish that they will not attribute it to the Office of the President that the Ombudsman made such a statement,” he added.

Senators had earlier questioned the Ombudsman’s move and called the act “illegal” because it hindered public access to information which is of public concern, according to Sen. Francis Escudero.

Senator Miriam Santiago also said she was surprised why the Ombudsman had to adopt a bureaucratic procedure to discourage the public from acquiring documents which are considered public document.

The order came after a government workers’ group asked the anti-graft body to probe Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo for reportedly failing to disclose in his 2009 SALN his P63.7-million beachfront property in California.

But Ermita said Malacañang has no jurisdiction over the issue.

“That is the policy or direction, guidelines given by the Ombudsman which is a separate body,” he said. (Hannah Torregoza)