As part of his administration’s moves to restore public trust in the government.
In his speech, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) will be made available to any requesting body, including the Office of the Ombudsman and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
The SALN is the disclosure of government officials and employees of their financial connections or business interests, as well as the identification of relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity. They are mandated to submit their SALN on or before April 30 each year.
The chief executive added that he was surprised when he learned about the policy allowing access to the SALNs of public officials was suspended under the previous administration.
“These old rules were suspended in the last administration where it was much easier to get a copy of the SALN and to examine it… 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. So we’re just going back to the old procedure,” said the President.
In line with this, PBBM announced that his SALN will be made available to the proper authorities when they request it.
“Again, my SALN… it will be available as available to whoever would like to – kung bigyan — hingin sa akin ng ICI, eh ‘di siyempre ibibigay ko. Kung hingiin sa akin ng Ombudsman, ibibigay namin.”
This week, newly-appointed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla lifted the restrictions on public access to SALN, emphasizing that all government officials and employees should comply with and observe the reinstated policy.
CONFIDENT IN ICI
Meanwhile, President Marcos Jr. expressed his confidence that investigations into irregularities in flood control and other infrastructure projects will reveal no wrongdoing on his part.
President Marcos emphasized that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) must be allowed to conduct its investigation into anomalous infrastructure projects without interference.
“I am confident because I know what we did or did not do.”
He added, “If we investigate, we investigate everybody. We’ll follow the evidence. And wherever that leads is not something that we try to direct or influence.”
The President also dismissed attempts to link him to the flood control corruption issue and called them “politically motivated.”
“I know that there are several — the opposition would love to bring me into this – to include me in all of this. But that’s politics. That is not to do about corruption. That is to do about politics,” said the chief executive.
President Marcos also reiterated his confidence that the ICI will do its duty to collate evidence, verify claims and complaints.
“On this, I am confident that whatever mud might be slung at the administration, that we will be able to show that these are politically motivated and do not actually have any validation in fact,” he told.
WORK TO REGAIN PUBLIC TRUST
In the aftermath of the flood control mess, Marcos said that his administration is working to maintain public trust and support, which, he said, must continually be earned through performance and responsiveness to citizens’ needs.
“Kung may reklamo, bukas naman kami. Sige magreklamo kayo sabihin ninyo sa amin. If it’s something that we have to attend to… Because we try to listen to everyone.”
President Marcos also said that he remains confident that key sectors of society will continue to back his administration’s advocacies and programs.
“However, we work very hard to continue to earn that support from them,” with the chief executive stressing that the entire government will work to deliver what the public wants from them.