Ombudsman Reopens Wealth Declaration Access

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano presents a memo from the Office of the Ombudsman that removes restrictions on public access to the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of public officials.

Ombudsman Reopens Wealth Declaration Access: Will It Expose Filipino Kleptocrats?

By Wilma N Yamzon – TheNationWeek.Com | October 16, 2025

MANILA, Philippines – In a dramatic move hailed as a victory for transparency, the Office of the Ombudsman has restored public access to government officials’ wealth declarations to fight rampant corruption and abuse of power.

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano announced the decision Tuesday, promising a new era of accountability that will allow citizens to scrutinize the financial disclosures of those in public service.

“The public has a legitimate right to know how those in government acquire and manage their wealth,” Clavano stated, emphasizing that transparency must be more than just rhetoric.

The restored access dismantles a controversial 2020 policy, implemented under former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, that required prior consent from government officials to scrutinize their statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALNs).

With the new policy, any citizen with valid identification can request SALNs from the Ombudsman’s repository—from the president and vice president down to local government officials and officers of constitutional commissions.

The Ombudsman is also urging the judiciary and Congress, which maintain their own SALN repositories, to follow suit and establish uniform transparency standards across all branches of government.

While the policy signals a potential shift toward greater openness, significant limitations remain.

Requests can be denied if the Ombudsman is not the official repository, the SALN is not on file, or if the request is deemed for commercial purposes, harassment, or violates the law.

Furthermore, sensitive information like home addresses and details about minor children will be redacted to protect privacy.

Despite the fanfare, a deep-seated skepticism pervades.

Good governance advocates question whether the restored access to SALNs will truly expose and deter entrenched kleptocrats in the face of corruption, including trillions of pesos allegedly siphoned off through flood control ghost projects and other high-profile scandals.

Will bureaucratic red tape, extensive redactions, and the potential for misuse of information be checked to quell public outrage over endemic corruption?

Many Filipinos see this as an insult to their intelligence.

The true test of the renewed transparency initiative lies in its ability to deliver genuine accountability.

Many remain unconvinced that it can effectively dismantle deeply rooted systemic issues, believing that it merely serves as a superficial response to a crisis of public trust.

The nation watches, waiting to see if the move will truly unmask the corrupt or simply provide a veneer of reform in the fight against corruption.