MANILA, Philippines — A former city councilor of Manila was charged by the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly failing to declare the business interests of his wife in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth or SALN. Former councilor Roderick Valbuena was charged with two counts of falsification of public documents under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code. Based on the charge sheets filed by the ombudsman before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan, Valbuena “willfully and unlawfully” made untruthful statements in his SALN when he assumed office in July 2010, as well as in his SALN for April in that same year. Valbuena's untruthful declaration in his SALNs had caused “damage and prejudice to public interest,” the ombudsman added. The charge sheets were approved by overall deputy ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang on July 26, 2017 but the cases were formally filed at the Sandiganbayan only on Jan. 23, 2018.

Source: Philippine Star January 27, 2018 09:56 UTC