Risa Hontiveros declares P18.9M net worth in 2024 SALN

Senate Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Monday made public her 2024 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), declaring a net worth of P18.986 million amid ongoing calls for greater transparency and accountability in government.

According to the document, Hontiveros’ total assets amounted to ₱19.884 million, which include both real and personal properties. Her declared liabilities, consisting primarily of a car loan, stood at ₱897,840.

The senator’s move comes in the wake of a recent policy shift at the Office of the Ombudsman, which removed key restrictions on public access to the SALNs of government officials.

Hontiveros welcomed the development and reaffirmed her position that SALNs should be freely accessible to the public.

She had previously criticized restrictions on SALN access as “unjust, unconstitutional, and anti-people.”

Hontiveros earlier emphasized that public access to SALNs is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution and supported by existing laws.

The policy reversal stems from a memorandum recently issued by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, which overturned the controversial 2020 directive of his predecessor, former Ombudsman Samuel Martires.

The previous policy had tightly restricted access to SALNs, requiring the written consent of the official concerned and imposing other limitations that critics said undermined transparency.

The new memorandum applies to top public officials, including the President, Vice President, heads of constitutional bodies, and local officials, for whom the Ombudsman serves as the official SALN repository.

Several senators have also expressed support for the Ombudsman’s decision to lift restrictions on the public disclosure of government officials’ SALNs.