Even after formally submitting a request to the Office of the Ombudsman, Akbayan Party President Rafaela David is urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other top government officials to voluntarily release their Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) to demonstrate transparency.
David, along with members of the party-list and civil society, and youth leaders, requested the SALNs of Marcos, Vice President Sara Duterte, former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, and 13 other officials on Thursday.
‘They shouldn’t wait for the Ombudsman to release their SALNs. They should release their SALNs themselves,’ David, speaking in Filipino, said in an ambush interview after the letter’s submission.
‘Our topmost officials should set an example and show that they are committed to transparency and accountability. They should lead the way. Even before the Ombudsman releases the SALNs, they should make theirs public. That is our appeal to the president, the vice president, and all government officials,’ she added.
Akbayan issued the letter following the publication of Memorandum Circular No. 3, series of 2025, on October 31. According to the Civil Code’s requirement, the memo takes effect 15 days after publication.
The Office of the Ombudsman lifted restrictions on public access to SALNs filed by government officials on October 14, marking a departure from the policy of Remulla’s predecessor, Martires, who in 2020 imposed stringent conditions on the documents’ release.
Martires had allowed access to SALNs only if there was notarized consent from the officials concerned, a court order related to a pending case, or a need by the Ombudsman’s field investigators for a fact-finding probe.
In defense of his policy, Martires said at that time that SALNs had been weaponized to damage the reputations of government officials or political rivals.
Under Remulla’s memorandum, journalists and the public now need only to present two valid IDs and pay for the reproduction or certification fee to request a copy of an official’s SALN.