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 among government officials.
The document showed Hontiveros’ total assets amounted to P19.884 million, which included both real and personal properties. Her declared liabilities, consisting primarily of a car loan, stood at P897,840.
The senator bared her SALN following the recent policy shift by the Office of the Ombudsman which removed restrictions on public access to the statements of assets of government officials.
Hontiveros welcomed the development and reaffirmed her position that SALNs should be made freely accessible to the public.
She had previously criticized restrictions on SALN access as “unjust, unconstitutional, and anti-people.”
Hontiveros had pointed out that public access to SALNs is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution and supported by existing laws.
The policy reversal stems from a memo issued by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, which overturned the 2020 directive of his predecessor, 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 memo from the Ombudsman applies to top public officials, including the President, Vice President, heads of constitutional bodies, and local officials. These are the positions for which the Ombudsman serves as the official repository of the SALN.
Several senators have also expressed support for the Ombudsman’s decision to lift restrictions on the public disclosure of government officials’ SALNs.