Agood example should be embarrassing enough for the others; two make the act compelling on the rest to follow suit.

Take your pick: The shaming process can either be subtle or blatant.

But why go through the humiliating exercise when the simplest way out is  just to be decent.

One decency yardstick in public service is voluntary disclosure.

Thomas Jefferson was right: When one enters the public service, he should consider himself a public property who must be always willing and able  to accept public scrutiny.

With this thought in mind, we take our hats off to two Supreme Court justices who have made public summaries of their statement of assets, liabilities and net worth amid questions on purported properties of Chief Justice Renato Corona to be tackled in his upcoming impeachment trial at the Senate.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno furnished copies of their respective SALN summaries to cause-oriented group Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership and online newsmagazine Newsbreak.

Carpio, Corona’s rival for the chief justice post in May 2010, bared in his information sheet that he had P47,269,928 in total assets and P75,000 in total liabilities for a net worth of P46,344,928 for the year 2010.

Sereno, on the other hand, said she had total assets of P17,996,810.82 and total liabilities of P155,457.17 for the year 2009, for a total net worth of P17,841,353.65.

Malacañang promptly commended  the disclosure of the summary of the SALNs of Carpio and Sereno and called on other members of the judiciary to do the same and make the practice routine.

“The cause of justice can have no sturdier shield than the integrity of those who are tasked with discharging it. The decision of Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and Maria Lourdes Sereno to release the summaries of their statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth upon the request of concerned citizens is commendable to the highest degree,” Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

Lacierda  said members of the Judiciary disclosing their assets had everything to gain from embracing transparency and accountability, noting that the Palace “believes that demonstrating faith in the Filipino is the best way to obtain and retain public confidence” .

Carpio  also revealed his other properties and financial interests including one-eighth interest in the estate of Bernardo Carpio, one-seventh interest in the estate of Sol Carpio and a seventh of one-sixth interest in the estate of Lourdes Carpio.

President Aquino’s first appointee to the SC,  who is reportedly being considered as “possible replacement” of Corona should the latter be convicted in the impeachment court, Sereno also declared total assets of P17,904,510.14 and total liabilities of P142,342.88 for a total net worth of P17,762,167.26 for the year 2010.

Carpio released his SALN summary last December 21 and Sereno on Deccember 28, when the High Court was in holiday recess and after the House already filed the impeachment complaint with the Senate, which includes the SALN issue in one of the eight articles.

In his reply letter to the requesting parties, Carpio said the matter of public disclosure of the SALN of justices and judges is presently under consideration by the high court based on the recommendation by the Special Committee to Review the Policy on SALNs and PDs, then headed by now retired justice Minita Chico-Nazario.A good example should be embarrassing enough for the others; two make the act compelling on the rest to follow suit.