Marcos willing to publicize SALN

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is willing to make public his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

“We’ll follow the old rules. These old rules were suspended in the last administration where the SALN was – it was much easier to get a copy of the SALN and to examine it,” Marcos told reporters.

“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. And so, we are just going back to the old procedure and we will follow that, whatever happens,” he added.

Marcos said his SALN would be available to whoever would need it, including the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, the body that is investigating the anomalies in flood control projects.

''Again, it will be available as available to whoever would like to – bigyan ninyo – hingiin sa akin ng ICI, eh ‘di siyempre ibibigay ko. Kung hingiin sa akin ng Ombudsman ang ano, ibibigay namin,'' he said. 

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla recently issued a memorandum circular lifting restrictions on public access to the SALN of public officials by doing away with the SALN owner’s required consent for public disclosure, among others.

Remulla’s memo, however, is not a case of free-for-all to ensure that public interest is served and the accountability of the SALN owners and requesters are established at the same time.

For one, the SALN that will be released by the Ombudsman based on a justified request will redact some personal information.

Meanwhile, asked if he would enjoin his Cabinet members to also publicize their SALN, Marcos said, ''Yes, of course." —LDF/AOL, GMA Integrated News