MANILA, Philippines - Civil Service Commission Francisco Duque on Friday said the CSC has come up with a new form for the filing of statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) that addresses weaknesses in the old form.

Speaking to ANC, Duque said the new form is more detailed and aims to minimize confusion in the actual properties owned by a government official or employee.

"The SALN is a wealth tracker. You will be able to find out whether the employee is spending so much more than what he actually earns. That is why the new SALN is very clear. You have to declare the income, the amount, source of income and you have to put there your personal and family expenditures," he said in an interview on Dateline Philippines.

Duque said the SALNs can be used as a tool for transparency to check if a government official or employee is declaring his actual wealth.

He cited the case of Customs clerk Paulino Elevado who is suspended and is now facing a lifestyle check for allegedly driving a Porsche and beating up a student after a car chase in Makati.

He said a review of the old SALN forms showed that there were weaknesses in the forms that would allow someone to manipulate the figures being reported.

This is why, he said, there is an argument that a filer could put a zonal value or assessed value of a property instead of the fair market value and real acquisition cost of a property.

He also said the new form allows a filer to state if he is paying for a property even if ownership had not yet been transferred. "Of course, absolute proof of ownership of a property is when the new owner has the title," he said.