Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will engage with his cabinet on Saturday regarding the potential release of their Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs), as reported by Malacañang on Friday.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire A. Castro verified this amid the recent voluntary announcements of SALNs by several legislators, including Risa Hontiveros, Robin Padilla, Tito Sotto from the Senate, and Kiko Barzaga from the lower chamber.
When inquired whether the President would take a similar action, “Tignan po natin kung ano po ang nararapat [Let’s see what’s appropriate],” Ms. Castro responded during the palace briefing.
The President previously mentioned that he would make his SALN accessible to any requesting entity, such as the Office of the Ombudsman and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which is probing anomalies in flood management projects.
“We will adhere to the previous regulations,” Mr. Marcos stated during a palace briefing on October 15, just a day after the newly appointed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin C. Remulla removed barriers to public access to SALNs.
“These previous regulations were suspended during the last administration, where it was considerably easier to obtain a copy of the SALN and review it.”
Ms. Castro indicated that she did not have further specifics on what else the cabinet would deliberate concerning the SALN, considering the President had already declared his SALN as public information.
She added that she would likely offer updates on Monday regarding the particulars of the meeting about the President and Cabinet’s SALN disclosure. — Edg Adrian A. Eva
