President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that he and his Cabinet members will comply if the Office of the Ombudsman requests access to their Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).
He remarked in a brief media interview in Malacañang when asked whether he would take the lead and allow the release of his SALN following the Ombudsman’s recent lifting of restrictions on SALN access.
‘My SALN is. Again, it will be available to whoever would like to-if you give it-if the ICI [Independent Commission for Infrastructure] asks me for it, then of course I will give it. If the Ombudsman asks me for it, we will also provide it,’ he said in Filipino.
Asked if his Cabinet members would do the same, Marcos responded in the affirmative.
According to the president, it was previously easier for the public to obtain a copy of SALNs, but this practice became difficult during the last administration.
‘And I was quite surprised to find out when I first came into office that that was no longer the case. That it was almost impossible, in fact, to get a copy of people’s SALN,’ he said.
‘And so, we are just going back to the old procedure and we will follow that whatever happens,’ Marcos added.
On Tuesday, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla lifted restrictions on public access to SALN of government officials, effectively reversing the policy imposed by its former chief, Samuel Martires.
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.
‘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. /mr