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The Office of the Ombudsman has lifted restrictions on public access to the statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALNs) of government officials, effectively reversing the policy imposed by its former chief, Samuel Martires.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla implemented the policy shift by releasing a memorandum lifting the access restrictions on SALNs, which Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano presented before the media during a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

‘This decision is guided by a simple principle. The public has a legitimate right to know how those in government acquire and manage their wealth,’ Clavano announced.

The ombudsman likewise called on all agencies, particularly the Civil Service Commission, the Office of the President, Congress, and the judiciary, ‘to align their practices with this policy.’

‘So I have with me today the signed memorandum of the Ombudsman reopening the public access of SALNs,’ he said while presenting a copy of the memorandum circular no. 3 signed by Remulla.

According to Clavano, the memorandum will take effect 15 days after its publication (October 14), and only then will the Office of the Ombudsman begin entertaining requests for copies of SALNs.

Earlier, Remulla said he aimed to open the Ombudsman’s doors to the public and make it a true ‘sumbungan ng bayan’ (the people’s grievance platform).

He added that his office was planning to crowdsource information for lifestyle checks and complaints, noting that investigations would no longer rely solely on fact-finding teams but would also gather input directly from citizens through an open communication line.

The former justice secretary said the SALNs of former President Rodrigo Duterte, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Vice President Sara Duterte would be among those accessible following the memorandum’s release.

Remulla also said he was ‘open’ to allowing public access to SALNs dating back to 2016.

Access to SALNs was previously restricted under Martires through Memorandum Circular No. 1, Series of 2020.

The memorandum required anyone requesting a copy of a SALN to present a notarized letter of authority from the declarant, effectively barring the public and the media from obtaining the documents unless permitted by the official concerned.

New memo

The new circular contained the guidelines on public access to SALNs filed by public officials and employees. Under Section 3, agency heads were required to collect and submit SALNs of their personnel to the Ombudsman, along with a summary report, by May 31 every year.

It added that late submissions would only be allowed in cases of force majeure or other meritorious grounds, subject to formal approval by the Ombudsman.

Moreover, the circular mandated that all SALNs received by the anti-graft body be preserved and digitally stored, taking into account the 20-year regulatory period for filing graft-related complaints under Republic Act No. 10910.

Once processed and officially recorded, the ombudsman disclosed that SALNs would be made available for public inspection and reproduction, but not earlier than 10 working days after the final deadline for submission from all government agencies.

How and where to file

Based on the document, SALNs must be filed with any public assistance and corruption prevention office of the anti-graft body’s central office, any public assistance corruption prevention bureau, or sectoral offices.

Those who would like to make a request must do so by filing a form issued by the office, present two valid IDs, pay the reproduction or certification fee, and wait for the respective offices to review the request.

‘All requests shall be acted upon within a reasonable period,’ the circular reads.

Clavano explained that all SALNs will be granted access to, except if the Office of the Ombudsman is not the official repository; the SALN is not on file, the request is for an unauthorized commercial purpose; the requesting party has a derogatory record of misuse, the request is linked to a pending case to influence or harass; there is evidence of extortion or safety threats; the identity of the requesting party is fictitious; or the purpose is contrary to law, morals, or public policy.

He explained that constitutional offices, local government units, and executive offices are required to submit their SALNs to the Office of the Ombudsman, while members of Congress and the judiciary are required to file them with the Supreme Court.

‘But the general rule is that all SALNs are made public. And any person, as long as they are able to submit their proper documentation and IDs, can be given a copy of the SALN,’ Clavano said.

‘As of today, and as the memorandum circular is written, there is no need for consent on the part of the public officer whose SALN is requested. The only thing that the requesting party needs to show is ID and to make sure that he is not a fictitious person, that he is indeed the person that he purports to be given the IDs. That’s it, and it will be granted,’ he added.

What will be omitted

Under the new guidelines, the Ombudsman will redact or omit sensitive personal details from any SALN copy released to the public to protect the privacy of the declarant and their family.

This means that the complete home address, names, and birth details of minor children, signatures, and government-issued identification numbers of the declarant and their spouse will no longer appear in the copies issued to requesting parties.

Each released copy will instead bear a visible watermark, control number, and disclaimer identifying the requester to ensure accountability and prevent misuse. Requesters will also have to shoulder reproduction or certification costs.

Those who use SALNs for media, academic, or public dissemination are required to submit a copy or link of their published work to the Ombudsman within five days of publication – a safeguard meant to help the office monitor and prevent misuse of the information. /mcm /atm /gsg

Binibining Pilipinas Annabelle McDonnell is making waves in Albania in the ongoing edition of The Miss Globe pageant, and Filipinos can help push her closer to the crown.

Fans are encouraged to log on to the official online platform of the pageant (https://www.themissglobe.com/participants2025) to vote for the radio and events host from Iligan City.

Even the winner of the ‘Head-to-Head Challenge,’ where the delegates showcased their communication skills and grasp of social issues, will be determined by votes.

McDonnell had already earned the admiration of many pageant fans when she convincingly clinched spots in the final round of two preliminary competitions.

She surprised many with her vocal prowess during the two rounds of talent competitions, showcasing her hidden talent by belting Adele hits.

McDonnell breezed through the qualifying round with ‘Easy on Me,’ then sang ‘When We Were Young’ in the final round.

She also expectedly delivered solid performances in the two stages of the ‘Head-to-Head Challenge,’ and wowed netizens with her impactful yet calm delivery of her thoughts.

McDonnell is aiming to give the Philippines its third victory in the current iteration of The Miss Globe pageant under Deliart Association.

Bb. Pilipinas Maricar Balagtas won the Philippines’ first victory in the pageant in 2001, before the organizational split between two factions of the Miss Globe organization.

Ann Colis from the 2015 Bb. Pilipinas batch was sent as the Philippines’ first entry to the Deliart Association’s own mounting of The Miss Globe pageant, and won the title.

Maureen Montagne followed this victory in 2021. Since 2015, all Filipino representatives in The Miss Globe pageant garnered placements in their respective years.

The Miss Globe will hold its 2025 coronation competition in Tirana, Albania, on Oct. 15 (Oct. 16 in Manila). Montagne will host the ceremonies, together with 2023 Miss Earth Drita Ziri. /edv

President Marcos Jr. inspected the P2.09-billion Camalaniugan-Aparri bridge on Tuesday morning.

The project, which links Camalaniugan to the western part of Aparri, is expected to be completed on February 24, 2026.

As of Sept. 30, it is 89.26 percent finished with a 1.82 percent negative slippage.

Former Lasam Mayor Eulogio Agatep Jr., director of the Philippine National Railways Corp., told the Inquirer that the bridge would ease traffic flow and facilitate the transport of goods from and to Camalaniugan and Aparri West, which are separated by the Cagayan River.

The project contractors are Hunan Road and Bridge Corp and Agafer Construction and Trading./coa/abc

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday assured thousands of families in Davao Region affected by the twin strong earthquakes last Friday that the national government will see through the recovery of their devastated communities.

‘We will not get out of here until your situation gets back to normal, although not exactly as when the quake did not yet happen,’ the President, in a mix of English and Filipino, told local officials who briefed him of their localities’ situation, along with several members of the Cabinet.

Marcos made this pronouncement after setting foot in Davao Region, the home turf of his close political ally-turned-nemesis Vice President Sara Duterte, to provide assistance to the communities affected by the recent ‘doublet’ earthquakes in Davao Oriental.

The president flew to Davao Oriental’s capital, Mati City, and also visited the towns of Tarragona and Manay on Monday to personally check on the status of the families in the province affected by the magnitude 7.4 and 6.9 earthquakes that struck hours apart on Oct. 10.

‘The president is not afraid to go to Davao, because the people of Davao are our fellow Filipinos, and they are the ones who need help right now,’ Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a briefing at Malacañang on Monday.

‘This should not be politicized to try to scare the president from visiting Davao. Our President will not be afraid to go to any region of our country because he is the president, and he will help all our fellow Filipinos who are in need,’ she added.

Despite the animosity between Marcos and Duterte, Castro described the Davaoeños to be ‘kindhearted’ to their fellow Filipinos, adding, ‘We know that they have the heart and that they recognize the people who truly help them.’

Better shelters

Prior to the situation briefing in Tarragona, the president visited various quake-affected sites in Davao Oriental, such as the Davao Oriental Provincial Hospital in Manay town, which is now practically operating under tents, as its buildings were destroyed by the violent tremor, and the Manay National High School, whose buildings are under safety assessment due to huge cracks.

While doing the rounds in one of the tents pitched at the Tarragona municipal hall grounds, Marcos observed that those occupying the temporary shelters had to endure the heat, hence the families stayed outside during the day.

He said that owing to the huge number of families who were left homeless when their houses were destroyed, the ‘tent city’ would be a faster way to provide them shelter.

‘We have the tent city, but we will change the tent city into modular shelters, which are stronger, more comfortable,’ the president said.

Initially, Davao Oriental will get 150 modular shelters, which will be installed on Friday and will be ready for use by Monday next week.

Mobile kitchens

The president said that after he listened to the report of the Office of Civil Defense, which placed the number of people affected by the doublet quake at 250,000, he thought of mobilizing mobile kitchens to help them meet their food needs.

‘This is what we can see as the necessary support we are going to give, as I’ve said, we will send the mobile kitchens. So, [while] we are providing meals from the mobile kitchens, we will also give P10,000 for those whose houses were destroyed,’ he added.

The beneficiaries of the financial assistance, he hoped, can buy materials and begin to rebuild their homes.

On Monday, Marcos also handed some P258 million in financial aid to the local governments so they can fund initiatives that address needs peculiar to their localities.

He said that he knew this, being a former governor. ‘Some may need to fix their water supply, others may need to have roads reopened.’

Davao Oriental Gov. Nelson Dayanghirang, in a report to the president, said the earthquake, which struck off Manay town, affected 166,834 families and left three persons dead and 232 others injured. The assessment of the damage to infrastructures has yet to be completed, but initial reports tallied 503 houses destroyed, while another 8,055 houses were damaged, he added.

The president allocated P50 million for the Davao Oriental provincial government and P10 million to its capital, Mati City. P15 million each was provided to the towns of Manay, Banaybanay, and Lupon; while P10 million was distributed to each of the municipalities of Tarragona, Baganga, Boston, and Cateel. The towns of Caraga and San Isidro also got P5 million each, while the Governor Generoso town received P3 million.

Financial assistance was also given to the following local government units: P20 million to Agusan del Sur province; P15 million each to Davao City and the provinces of Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Dinagat Islands.

Marcos also ordered the Department of Budget and Management to release local government support funds to the provinces affected by the earthquakes and directed the Department of Public Works and Highways to tap into its quick response fund to support the repair of damaged buildings

Thunderstorms are expected to lash Metro Manila and nearby provinces again on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the weather bureau said.

In its 8:20 a.m. advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported that moderate to heavy rain with lightning and strong winds may affect Rizal, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Cavite, Bataan, and Pampanga within the next two hours.

In Bataan, the affected areas are Mariveles, Limay, Pilar, Bagac, Orion, Balanga, Abucay, Samal, Orani, and Morong.

Meanwhile, in Pampanga, the towns covered by the advisories are: Masantol, Sasmuan, Lubao, Apalit, Minalin, Macabebe, San Simon, San Luis, and Candaba.

Similar conditions are already being experienced in Quezon, Laguna, and Batangas and may persist for up to two hours, possibly affecting nearby areas. /mcm/abc

Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday denied ‘control’ over Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco Barzaga who launched a call for President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr.’s resignation.

‘I do not control Congressman Kiko Barzaga, he is his own person, he has his own principles and he has his own free will,’ Duterte said in an interview in Zamboanga City.

Barzaga, last Sunday briefly joined a rally outside Forbes Park Village in Makati City where demonstrators called for the resignation of Marcos amid allegations of corruption in his administration.

Also in a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon, Barzaga urged people to join the rally, saying they would ‘enter the homes of (former Ako Bicol Rep.) Zaldy Co and (former Speaker and Leyte Rep.) Martin Romualdez’ as part of the protest action.

Co and Romualdez had been linked to anomalous government flood control projects. Both vehemently denied the accusation.

‘There is nothing wrong at all with what he is doing because as I said, we are all covered with freedom of speech and expression,’ she said of Barzaga.

The vice president also said that she last met Barzaga in Dasmariñas during the campaign period.

Duterte also said she only knew Barzaga as he was a supporter of ‘Uniteam’, the branding of Marcos-Duterte tandem in 2022.

Marcos and Duterte have been embroiled in a bitter feud marked by the vice president’s resignation in the present administration’s Cabinet as education secretary in June last year.

The feud became more intense after the Marcos administration allowed the International Criminal Court to arrest former President Rodrigo Duterte, who faces crimes against humanity charges due to his drug war which killed thousands, according to official government data. /gsg

The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) latest decision marked a bittersweet moment. On one hand, it represented a major step toward justice for countless victims of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s scorched-earth, scammy drug war. Yet, it also serves as a poignant reminder of ‘institutionalized impunity’ in our country. As forecast by countless experts, the ICC had every reason to deny the Duterte camp’s request for an interim release. After all, the former president, who spent years taunting and insulting the international court, was a perfect candidate for rejection. Based on the Rome Statute, the foundational document undergirding the mandate of the ICC and the parameters of its jurisdiction, an interim release shall be granted to a detainee if, and only if, the three following conditions are met: (i) ensuring appearance at trial; (ii) preventing any form of obstruction of the investigation or the proceedings, and (iii) avoiding any potential commission of further crimes.

Not only the former president’s own track record and fatalistic chutzpah, but also his children’s reckless abandon and perilously unmediated public pronouncements contributed directly to his ultimate predicament. Duterte will most likely spend his twilight years in a gloomy warehouse-looking detention center on the deceptively rustic outskirts of the notoriously officious The Hague. This is a particularly ignominious end for a vivacious despot, who spent a lifetime breaking institutions and winning votes with a toxic cocktail of demagogic charisma and Machiavellian ruthlessness.

The tragicomic, Dostoyevsky-like tone of the 23-page ruling is hard to miss. The Court pointed out, inter alia, how Duterte’s supporters accusing the ICC of ‘kidnapping’ potentially foreclosed any possibility of reprieve. I mean, who is willing to ‘return’ to his kidnapper, if granted interim or any form of release? Worse, Vice President Sara Duterte sealed the deal by mentioning a potential jailbreak or repatriation of her father to Davao, where he has enjoyed a spectral ‘cardboard-mayor’ reign since the midterm elections. A return to power and political habitat, the chamber argued, would place the recently elected Davao cardboard-mayor in the ‘very position that allowed him to commit the crimes for which his arrest and surrender to the Court was initially sought.’

Nor did Duterte’s family and supporters help him when they began trolling and trashing the ICC. The desperate appeal to ‘humanitarian consideration’ also fell on deaf ears, since the chamber was happy to remind everyone of the former president’s comparatively luxurious accommodation and world-class health care, including ‘[a] qualified medical officer with experience in psychiatry shall be available to attend the detention center [and a] nurse shall be present at the detention center at all times.’

As former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV told me on my podcast ‘Deep Dive’ recently, warrants of arrest for Duterte henchmen, such as Senators Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa and Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, are in the pipeline. So, a ‘Group Hague’ scenario in early 2026 is more likely than ever. The ICC’s decisive intervention, however, is also a tragic reminder of the failure of our own judicial institutions. The haplessly performative Senate resolution in favor of Duterte’s interim release last month is only the latest reminder that had Duterte not been handed over to the ICC, justice would have been eternally unattainable. Worse, think of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Davao chapter’s ‘Golden Pillar of Law Award’ for an ICC-level alleged criminal. Worse than pathetic!

Our fundamental democratic crisis is ‘institutionalized impunity.’ Corruption is more of an effect than a cause of our current predicaments. Corruption festers when there is impunity, when domestic judicial institutions have failed to hold even a single high-level official accountable in recent memory. Has any ‘big fish’ been held accountable for Marcos dictatorship-era crimes? How many presidents or senators have been held fully accountable for countless corruption scandals in the past three decades?

But can we expect our judicial system to be any more effective when, until recently, the judiciary received barely a single percent of the national budget? When a lower court has to grapple with an average of 4,000 cases daily? When there is barely a single court for every 50,000 Filipinos? When a single judge has to deal with more than 600 cases annually? When our prisons have close to 400 percent overcapacity? When almost two-thirds of those behind bars are pretrial detainees who were never convicted of a crime but are in years-long court proceedings?

Unless we invest in and modernize our judicial institutions, the triple evils of corruption, impunity, and incompetence will continue to sink our democratic aspirations.

Fans of Claudine Barretto and Mark Anthony Fernandez had a trip down memory lane after the former couple met anew for an apparent project.

In the clip shared by the actress on her Instagram page on Sunday, Oct. 12, the two of them are all smiles while in an embrace and while sitting close to each other in a photoshoot.

In a separate post, Barretto also showed their meeting in which she can be heard greeting the actor, ‘Hi, my ex!’ before they went in for a hug.

Fernandez, in response, said, ‘Dati ‘babe.” (It was ‘babe’ back then.)

Barretto and Fernandez are reportedly working together on the TV series ‘Totoy Bato,’ where the latter is part of. Details on the actress’ participation in the project have yet to be announced as of this writing.

Barretto and Fernandez, who dated back in the 1990s when they were just teenagers, had reunited in 2021 and headlined the Joel Lamangan-helmed film ‘Deception.’

‘We never had a problem with each other. We never spoke ill of each other – ever,’ Barretto said of Fernandez at the time.

The actor likewise noted, ‘We have always liked each other even if we weren’t together anymore.’ /ra