Should the income of the spouses of public officials be declared in their SALNs?
When a public official declares their assets, liabilities, and net worth, should the disclosure also account for the wealth of their spouse?
The question has taken on renewed significance in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, where prosecutors are scrutinizing not only her SALN, but also the financial records of her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, and businesses linked to the couple.
The issue came into sharper focus on Oct. 9, when prosecution witness and financial forensic analyst Alexander Cabrera testified that Duterte and Carpio had a combined P817.87 million in allegedly undeclared assets and income from 2022 to 2025.
But what does the law actually require when it comes to a spouse’s income?
Why a spouse's assets may matter in SALN disclosures
During the trial on Oct. 12, Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros asked Cabrera why the business interests and assets of Carpio are important to the case.
"Unang-una po yung requirement po sa SALN, dapat po i-file 'yung properties, business interests ng mag-asawa. Because of the absolute community of property, kung ano po yung kitain ng asawa po ay kita din po ng maybahay—in this case, si VP Sara," he asserted.
"Wala naman pong pre-nuptial agreement at kung absolute community po ‘yun, mabubuwag lang po ‘yun ng judicial decree of separation, or if not, separation of properties. Kung may ganun po, wala rin pong na-submit sa amin," he added.
Under the Family Code, the default property regime for marriages in the absence of a valid marriage settlement is absolute community of property. This means that assets owned by either spouse before or acquired during the marriage may be shared by both, even if registered under only one spouse’s name.
"Kung may absolute community of property kayo, kasama po sa accountability na i-declare 'yung property ng asawa," Cabrera said.
He added that an individual can simply transfer the property under their spouse's name. "Para magkaroon ng accountability, pinapakupkop po ng batas na ideklara po sa isang SALN."
Former Integrated Bar of the Philippines National Executive Director Atty. Antonio Ligon echoed this while speaking on Storycon. He pointed to testimony concerning bank accounts allegedly linked to Carpio, including one reportedly containing more than P20 million, and said these accounts could be relevant to Duterte’s SALN if the couple’s property relations place the assets within their shared estate.
"Dapat included sa SALN because ang kanilang property relation is presumably absolute," he said.
Ligon said a prenuptial agreement providing for complete separation of property could change the analysis.
“Kung defense ako, ipapakita ko lang [na] ang [prenup] ng mag-asawa is complete separation. Irrelevant ang lahat ng ownership ni Atty. Carpio to the vice president kasi kanya lang yan,” he said.
"But under our law, kapag hindi kayo nag-usap, 'pag walang prenup, automatic absolute community."
Why isn’t the income of public officials’ spouses included in their SALNs?
Atty. Paolo Tamase, assistant professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law, explained to PhilSTAR L!fe that the SALN does not require the declaration of income, whether earned by the public officer or the spouse.
Instead, Republic Act No. 6713, Section 8(A), or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, requires the disclosure of assets, liabilities, and net worth.
"In that case, the public officer’s SALN must include both his and his spouse’s assets. As an exception, if the spouse’s properties are exclusive—for example, if she received them through inheritance—the public officer need not declare them under CSC Memorandum Circular No. 6, series of 2001," Tamase said.
In addition, Constitutional law professor Dante Gatmaytan noted during one of the episodes of the YouTube series Chikahan with Cielo Magno that there's also the separation of property regime, which has been discussed in the case of Abid-Babano vs. Executive Secretary. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that RA 6713 does not apply if the marriage operates under a regime of complete separation of property, whether mandated by law (such as the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, which applies here) or arranged through a prenuptial agreement.
"There has to be a prenup to agree adapting the complete separation of properties," he stressed to L!fe.
This was also stated in the Civil Service Commission Omnibus Rule on SALNs: "When spouses are covered by the regime of complete separation of property by law or as agreed prior to the marriage, the separate property of the spouse is not required to be declared by the declarant."
The limits of SALN disclosures
Gatmaytan noted that there is always a possibility that public officials can "conceal assets by co-mingling them with the spouse’s assets and selectively reporting them."
“In that sense, we may find it difficult to extract accountability from our public officials," he said.
Tamase echoed this, noting that excluding the spouse's assets may affect public accountability.
"It has an effect. The regular filing and disclosure of the SALN is supposed to show whether the growth in the wealth of a public officer conforms to his legal income," he said.
"The reason why public officers are required to include the assets, liabilities, and net worth of their spouses and children below 18 who are living in their households is that ill-gotten wealth can avoid disclosure by the public officer simply naming properties under the names of those relatives," he added.
Gatmaytan, however, suggested that a more appropriate approach could involve waiving the right to privacy for individuals married to politicians to promote transparency and public accountability.
"The exclusion of some information seeks to protect the privacy of people who are not public officers and should be under no obligation to reveal their assets, liabilities, and net worth," he said.
"The better policy, however, seems to be a waiver of this right to privacy, on the part of any person who is married to a politician. This would serve the interests of transparency and accountability better," he added. (with reports from Melanie Uson)
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