Baguio City, Philippines – How many politicians in the country have opened his or her records of assets to the public for transparency?
On April 16, Mayor Benjamin Magalong of Baguio City gave authorization to anyone to have access of his records, earning the praise of the people not just in Baguio, but even those outside the Summer Capital for showing how transparency should be done among public officials.
The local chief executive who is gunning for a re-election made an authorization letter allowing any person to access records of his real properties and businesses in Baguio City through the City Assessor’s Office, solidifying his words during the leader’s forum recently held in the city that he would open his records to anyone.
“This certification is made in the spirit of transparency and good governance, values that I have upheld and continue to stand by throughout the past decades as a public servant,” he wrote in the authorization letter.
With the signed document at hand, Magalong, in a video uploaded on Facebook, hopes that his move would end circulating information about him, saying, “ito ho, napirmahan ko na po itong pinangako ko sa inyo during the leader’s forum na pipirma po ako ng isang dokumento para papayagan ko po kung sino ang may gustong pumunta po sa Assessor’s office para i-check po yung aking mga records kung ano po yung mga iba’t iba kong property dito sa Baguio para maniwala po kayo na lahat po nung mga ibinibintang nila ay pawang kasinungalingan.”
Magalong also reminded that other candidates in Baguio City gave their commitment to allow the people access to their records of real properties and businesses.
“Sana ho yung mga ibang kandidato rin dahil napagusapan din namin during the leader’s forum na gawin din ho. Pareho po kaming nagbigay din ng commitment,” Magalong said.
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