Camille Naredo

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signs into law the Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy Act at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on August 14, 2025. Mark Balmores, PPA Pool/File

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signs into law the Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy Act at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on August 14, 2025. 

The law strengthens the constitutional guarantee under Article VIII, Section 3, ensuring that the Judiciary’s budget cannot be reduced below the previous year’s allocation and must be automatically released. It also authorizes the Supreme Court to submit its budget proposal directly to Congress, mandates the automatic monthly release of funds, and requires quarterly reporting to the President and Congress. Witnesses include Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, Senate President Chiz Escudero, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and other officials. 

Mark Balmores, PPA Pool

Article (news)

MARCOS

Harlene Delgado

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176147457485120250814-marcos-judiciary-fiscal-autonomy-PPA-8.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signs into law the Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy Act at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on August 14, 2025. Mark Balmores, PPA Pool/File"/>President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signs into law the Judiciary Fiscal Autonomy Act at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on August 14, 2025. Mark Balmores, PPA Pool/File</div>KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is willing to make his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN) public to &quot;proper authority&quot; and in accordance with procedures laid out by the Ombudsman, according to Malacanang.This was the response of Palace Press Officer Claire Castro when asked to clarify on Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin&#x27;s statement, saying that they cannot allow the &quot;indiscriminate freedom&quot; on accessing SALNs of Cabinet officials and the president himself, citing potential security risks. <div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/25/bersamin-says-there-must-be-legitimate-reasons-to-access-salns-1415">READ: Bersamin says there must be &#x27;legitimate reasons&#x27; to access SALNs</a></div>&quot;Unang-una, nagsalita na po ang Pangulo at siya naman po ay handang ibigay at ipakita ang kaniyang SALN sa proper authority at meron naman po tayong rules or procedure na inilahad ang Ombudsman,&quot; Castro said in a press briefing on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits here in Kuala Lumpur Sunday, October 26. &quot;Sinabi naman po dito na ang lahat ng request for SALN ay pagbibigyan pero may mga certain guidelines po na ibinigay ang Ombudsman so ang ehekutibo po ay tutugon tungkol dito,&quot; she added. On Saturday, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said there are guidelines to be followed on the release of SALNs, noting that the Palace does not seek &quot;denial&quot; but rather control on who could access it.&quot;We cannot just allow the indiscriminate freedom to access these SALNs. You must all take note that the SALN contains many details that might compromise the security [and] safety of public officials concerned,&quot; Bersamin told reporters.&quot;Our existing rules require any person who wants to access any SALN of any official should give a good reason,&quot; he added.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/15/marcos-jr-says-willing-to-publicize-saln-1621">READ: Marcos Jr. says willing to publicize SALN</a></div>Marcos Jr. told Palace press officers last October 15 that he was open to making his SALN public, saying he would even enjoin his Cabinet members to do the same.The Palace official also confirmed that the Marcos Cabinet held an informal meeting on Saturday, October 25 where they expressed willingness to release SALN through proper procedure. &quot;Napag-usapan nga po na sila naman ay tutugon base po sa procedure ng Ombudsman at &#x27;yun na rin po ang sinabi ni ES Bersamin na hindi pwedeng magamit ito, indiscriminately, to let&#x27;s say political attacks or whatever na pwedeng maka-discredit sa mga public officials,&quot; Castro emphasized.&quot;But still nandyan naman po ang procedure na iinilahad ng Ombudsman at bawat isa naman po ay tutugon dito,&quot; she stated. <div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/24/marcos-cabinet-members-to-discuss-saln-release-on-oct-25-palace-1534">READ: Marcos, Cabinet members to discuss SALN release on Oct. 25 -- Palace</a></div>A lawmaker had criticized Bersamin for his statement, calling it &quot;hypocritical and evasive.&quot;&quot;Simple lang &#x27;yan: Kung wala kayong tinatago, bakit kayo natatakot na ipakita at masuri ng mamamayan ang SALN ninyo? Transparency daw, pero SALN hindi maipakita—&#x27;yan ang tunay na security threat sa bansa. Kung talagang malinis, bakit hindi na lang ipakita sa taumbayan?&quot; Kamanggagawa Partylist Representative Elijah &quot;Eli&quot; San Fernando said in a statement. San Fernando had publicly authorized the release of his own SALN last week.Former Ombudsman Samuel Martires in a 2020 circular required prior written and notarized consent from officials before their SALNs could be released to a requesting party.Amid investigations into alleged corruption in government projects, lawmakers believe relaxing the rules on SALN disclosure is a step in the right direction.SALNs would, for example, provide a &quot;baseline determination [of] actual wealth&quot;, which can be compared to an official&#x27;s salary grade and declared income, according to House Infra-Comm Co-Chair Terry Ridon. -- with a report from Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is willing to make his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth public to "proper authority" and in accordance with procedures laid out by the Ombudsman, according to Malacanang.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is willing to make his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth public to "proper authority" and in accordance with procedures laid out by the Ombudsman, according to Malacanang.

Marcos Jr. willing to make SALN public to 'proper authority' through Ombudsman procedure – Palace

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Marcos Jr. willing to make SALN public to 'proper authority' through Ombudsman procedure – Palace

Harlene Delgado,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 26, 2025 06:31 PM PHT

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Statement of Assets

Liabilities and Networth

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Claire Castro

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