Palace Speaks on Stand of Marcos Jr. over the Ombudsman’s Investigation on Some Congressmen
MARCOS JR. – The Malacañang Palace said the President will respect the rules of the House of Representatives amid the claim of the Ombudsman that they are allegedly having a hard time getting the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of congressmen they are investigating.
One of the first things that Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla after he assumed the position as the chief graft buster of the nation was reopen the public access to the SALNs that are within its repository. It has the SALNs of the president, the vice president, and the local government officials among others.
In his decision to lift the measures that secured these documents under the term of his predecessor, former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, Remulla stressed that “public office is a public trust”. There is no longer a need to secure the consent of the SALN owner following the move of the country’s chief graft buster.
Following the move of Ombudsman Boying Remulla, all senators of the 20th Congress released copies of their SALN to the public. In the case of the House of Representatives, a few congressmen did what the senators did.
Recently, amid the ongoing flood control probe, Ombudsman Boying Remulla claimed that their team is allegedly having a hard time getting the SALN of some congressmen that they are investigating. According to Remulla, they were told that the matter needs to pass the plenary first.
The Ombudsman claimed that he will write to House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy over the matter. According to him, he will not accept the alleged excuse.
“They said the permission still has to go through the plenary. That’s not how it works. I used to be in Congress. I know the plenary inside and out. We don’t do that,” Remulla said.
Recently, Malacañang was asked about the stand of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. over the claim of the Ombudsman that it is allegedly having a hard time getting the SALN of some congressmen that they are investigating. Based on a report on GMA News, Palace press officer undersecretary Claire Castro said Marcos Jr. wants transparency but he respects the rules of the House.
Marcos Jr. also wants to avoid “executive overreach” as the palace. Based on the report, Atty. Claire Castro stressed the separation of powers.
“It’s clear that the President wants transparency and accountability. But each department has its own rules. There is a separation of powers, and whatever rules the House of Representatives or Congress sets regarding this matter, the President will respect them,” the Malacañang press official said.
Recently, Malacañang also spoke on the fate of the ICI or the Independent Commission for Infrastructure that was created to probe the flood control scam.
