Release SALNs of Marcos, Sara
The Akbayan party, along with civil society and youth leaders, submitted on Thursday a letter to the Office of the Ombudsman requesting the release of the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) of President Marcos, Vice President Sara Duterte and other top government officials.
“Our request is a test of this government’s seriousness in addressing the massive corruption scandal. We will not accept half measures,” Akbayan president Rafaela David said in a statement to the media after the group submitted its letter.
“The Ombudsman must heed the public’s demand for transparency and immediately release the SALNs of the country’s top officials. The greater the power, the greater the demands for transparency and accountability. Our highest officials must be subjected to the highest levels of scrutiny,” she added.
But at the same time, Akbayan urged the officials to voluntarily release their SALNs themselves instead of leaving it up to the Ombudsman.
“Our topmost officials should give an example of their commitment to transparency and accountability. They should lead the way. They should release their SALNs even before the Ombudsman does. This is our appeal to the President, Vice President and all other officials,” David said in an interview.
Public demand for transparency among government officials has been growing after some of them, including lawmakers, along with department officials, were linked to anomalous infrastructure projects totaling billions of pesos.
Party’s list
Also named in Akbayan’s request were former Ombudsman Samuel Martires; Commission on Audit officials led by Chair Gamaliel Asis Cordoba and Commissioners Mario Gonzales Lipana and Douglas Michael Mallillin; Commission on Elections officials headed by Chair George Erwin Garcia, along with Commissioners Aimee Ferolino, Rey Bulay, Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr., Nelson Celis, Maria Norina Tangaro-Casingal and Noli Pipo; and Civil Service Commission Chair Marilyn Yap with Commissioners Ryan Alvin Acosta and Luis Meinrado Pañgulayan.
The group submitted its letter request after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla issued Memorandum Circular No. 3, series of 2025, on Oct. 14.
The memorandum, which will take effect on Nov. 15, lifted restrictions imposed by Martires in 2020 on public access to SALNs of government officials.
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.
According to him, SALNs were being weaponized to damage the reputations of government officials or political rivals.
Under Remulla’s memorandum, journalists and the public need only to present two valid IDs and pay for the reproduction or certification fee to request a copy of an official’s SALN. —WITH A REPORT FROM JOSSA RAFONCEL PAR
