MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang is not ready to post the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of President Aquino and his Cabinet on the official government website for public access.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the Palace must comply with the existing official rules on the release of such document unless amended by a Freedom of Information (FOI) law.

Valte, speaking on government radio, said they have no problem with releasing SALNs but any request for copies should go through proper channels in the bureaucracy.

"The SALNs are readily available and the law has some restrictions on their release. It must go through the official, formal process of requesting for it. There are certain inspection and reasonable hours which are normally construed as office hours," she said, when asked if the Palace favors the release of the SALNs of the President and his Cabinet on the Official Gazette.

"Let's just wait. There is a pending FOI bill in Congress. Let us see if there will be any amendment on the Code of Conduct for public officials. The guidelines on the SALN are found in the code," she added.

Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials requires disclosure to the public of the actual copies of SALNs.

Valte also urged government agencies to process any request for a copy SALN of public officials within reasonable time. She said an agency has 15 days to respond to any request "so the compliance will be within that period unless there are extraordinary reasons for an extension."

"We will be filing that soon because under the law that’s before April 30 and it should be made available 10 days after the last day of filing. Just wait for them."

The disclosure of government officials' wealth became a hot topic recently after Chief Justice Renato Corona refused to submit his SALN to public scrutiny. Corona is accused of having unexplained wealth, among others, in the impeachment complaint against him.

Some lawmakers in the prosecution team were also criticized for not voluntarily presenting their SALNs to the public.

The Palace has appealed to all government officials to emulate President Aquino to disclose their SALNs in line with transparency and accountability.