Joint Statement
Urging Mandatory Lifestyle Checks to Enforce SALN Accountability

27 November 2025 – We call for truthful and public submission of Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) by government officials and mandatory lifestyle checks to validate these disclosures. Without rigorous verification, SALNs remain symbolic records rather than
effective tools against corruption.

Lifestyle audits are much easier to do now with accessible digital footprints that show spending patterns, travel, social media activity, and ownership of luxury assets of the officials and their family members. They are essential to uncover actual living standards that don’t align with declared wealth.

The Constitution (Article XI, Section 17) mandates every public official to submit a sworn SALN upon assuming office, with full public disclosure for high-ranking officials. Republic Act No. 6713 further extends SALN requirements to spouses and minor children living in the same household and mandates annual updates. The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act impose penalties including disqualification and imprisonment, while the Plunder Law punishes with lifetime imprisonment those who amass ill-gotten wealth of at least P50
million, a low benchmark given what we now know.

While the recent Ombudsman decision restoring public access to SALNs is welcome, transparency alone is insufficient. Under Republic Act No. 1379, as confirmed by a recent Supreme Court decision, any property “manifestly out of proportion” to an official’s lawful income is presumed ill-gotten and subject to forfeiture. Lifestyle audits enable this legal presumption. Discrepancies uncovered through these checks must trigger immediate, impartial investigations and prosecutions under the Ombudsman’s constitutional mandate.

We also call on the public to remain vigilant and report signs of excessive or unexplained wealth among officials.

The corruption we now see, we cannot unsee. We can no longer allow pilferage to prosper under the cover of pretense, political patronage, and public indifference.