Marcos ready for SALN release, lifestyle check
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is ready for a lifestyle check, which includes the release of a Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), according to the Malacañang on Friday, August 29.
Marcos’ probe into the corruption in flood control management has triggered a landfall of other issues, including the lavish lifestyles of politicians and government contractors. Opposition lawmaker Sen. Risa Hontiveros and other civil society actors have since challenged Marcos to disclose his SALN.
During the time of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the Marcos family amassed an estimated $10 billion in ill-gotten wealth, with the government recovering around $3.6 billion of it since 1986.
The younger Marcos has distanced himself from any of his family’s alleged ill-gotten wealth, especially since assuming the presidency himself.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the entire executive branch, including Marcos, was ready for a lifestyle check.
Asked if Marcos was willing to release his SALN, Castro initially said that it was a different topic.
Reporters were quick to point out, however, that a lifestyle check included the SALN.
Castro then said that Marcos would be willing to do so. “Kasama po [ang SALN] sa lifestyle check. Kapag po nagkaroon ng lifestyle check, mauna, mahuli man ang Pangulo, kasama po iyan,” she said. (The SALN is included in the lifestyle check. If there is a lifestyle check, whether the president is first or last, it is included.)
Marcos has previously ordered lifestyle checks on government officials in a bid to eliminate corruption in the government.
Several groups have called on Marcos to lead by example amid his anti-corruption crusade.
"While we support genuine anti-corruption efforts, we demand that President Marcos lead by example and subject himself to the same scrutiny he demands from others,” Rep. Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers Partylist) said.
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