Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Residents and motorists navigate the flooded Andrews Avenue corner Domestic Road in Pasay City on July 24, 2024. Gigie Cruz, ABS-CBN News

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Frustrated by reported corruption in infrastructure projects and by the flooding attributed to it, some on social media have started documenting the lavish lifestyles of politicians and construction contractors and of their relatives.</p><p>In posts on online bulletin board Reddit and on social media, users have made it clear that they expect officials and their relatives to live as they claim they do during the election campaign: like regular Filipinos who are relatable and who can relate to the struggles of the majority.</p><p>The posts do <a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/28/citizens-can-also-conduct-lifestyle-checks-on-lawmakers-ridon-2000">fit checks on politicians’ kids, wives and partners</a> and estimate how much their clothes and accessories are worth.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2025/8/29/-upuan-gloc-9-s-rap-about-corruption-is-viral-again-0806"><strong>&#x27;Upuan&#x27;: Gloc-9&#x27;s rap about corruption is viral again</strong><br/></a></div><p>The online efforts parallel and have so far gone farther than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s own order for investigations and lifestyle checks across government agencies.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/27/marcos-orders-lifestyle-check-on-all-gov-t-officials-amid-flood-project-probe-1141"><strong>Marcos orders lifestyle check on all gov&#x27;t officials amid probe into flood projects</strong></a></div><p>They have also, according to online sleuths, led to some politicians&#x27; and government contractors&#x27; children — collectively now referred to as &quot;nepo babies&quot; cleaning up, locking or deleting their accounts altogether. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PALACE: TELL THE PRESIDENT</strong></div><p>Asked about the online shame campaign, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants the public to work with government to combat corruption, saying it is everyone&#x27;s duty to.</p><p>&quot;Mas maganda talagang <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/14/-sumbong-sa-pangulo-website-receives-over-1-000-reports-on-flood-control-projects-1330">isumbong nila sa Pangulo</a> ang ganitong mga insidente at kondisyon,&quot; she said in an August 29 press briefing.</p><p>(It would be better for the public to tell the President about these incidents and conditions)</p><p>Living large is not in itself a crime, but Republic Act No. 6713 — the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees — requires government officials and employees as well as their families to lead &quot;modest lives appropriate to their positions and income.&quot;</p><p>The same code also prohibits them from &quot;[indulging] in extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/26/csc-tells-gov-t-officials-employees-to-temper-money-showering-in-traditional-practices-1702"><strong>CSC tells gov’t officials, employees to &#x27;temper&#x27; money showering in traditional practices</strong></a></div><p>The lifestyle checks that Marcos Jr. has ordered are meant to verify compliance with that directive and, <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/30/dapat-nga-bang-simple-lang-ang-lifestyle-ng-mga-politiko-1251">lawyer Noel Del Prado said on DZMM Teleradyo</a>, a tool to see if a public official or employee is being faithful to their oath to the Constitution, to the law, and to the public.  </p><p>The lavish lifestyles of officials&#x27; relatives could lead to the filing of cases, Del Prado said.</p><p>“Pero kasi dito, tandaan natin, ang paalala at pamantayan ng batas, ‘unexplained wealth,’” he also said.</p><p>(But we have to remember that the law is against &#x27;unexplained wealth&#x27;.)</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2025/8/28/bir-begins-lifestyle-check-on-contractors-who-flaunt-lavish-assets-to-look-into-gov-t-officials-1501"><strong>BIR begins lifestyle check on contractors who ‘flaunt’ lavish assets, to look into gov’t officials next</strong></a></div><p><strong></strong>&#x27;Unexplained wealth&#x27; under Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, would be &quot;an amount of property and/or money manifestly out of proportion to his salary and to his other lawful income&quot; and can be a ground for dismissal from public service.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LIFESTYLE CHECKS AND SALNS</strong></div><p>Lifestyle checks, along with scrutiny of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth that RA 6713 also requires public officials and employees to file, are among the tools that the public and agencies like the Office of the Ombudsman can use to check for potential corruption.</p><p>Except Samuel Martires, who retired as Ombudsman in July, stopped the lifestyle checks in 2020.</p><p><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1116428">State media Philippine News Agency</a> quotes him as saying then that RA 6713 itself is &quot;illogical&quot; since &quot;living beyond one&#x27;s means&quot; is relative.</p><p>A public official with a modest salary but who owns a luxury car, he said, could just have &quot;distorted values and distorted priorities.&quot;</p><p>Martires also tightened access to SALNs that are filed with the Office of the Ombudsman — those of the president, vice president, and the heads of constitutional commissions.</p><p>Except if ordered by a court, <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/09/15/20/ombudsman-limits-access-to-saln-net-worth-public-officials">only the official who filed the SALN or someone they have authorized</a> can ask the Office of the Ombudsman for a copy.</p><p>Some applicants for Martires&#x27; old job have indicated they are willing to review the guidelines on SALN disclosure &quot;<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/28/candidates-for-ombudsman-open-to-review-strict-rules-on-saln-disclosures-1412">to strike a balance somewhere, the right of the public to know and the limited rights of government employees.</a>&quot;</p><p>Until then, however, the public can only see the officials&#x27; SALNs if they release them voluntarily, which the freedom of information advocacy coalition Right to Know, Right Now is urging Marcos Jr. to do.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/29/ovp-request-for-sara-duterte-s-saln-must-go-through-proper-channels-1624"><strong>OVP: Request for Sara Duterte&#x27;s SALN must go through proper channels</strong></a></div><p>&quot;The SALNs of officials and personnel of the DPWH from the national and regional levels down to district engineers should complement the list of flood control projects published by the Office of the President,&quot; <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://r2krn.org/release-all-salns-dpwh-dtisec-bir-records/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMhJ4pleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFVM0tOdTJQNEJlSGlWQld2AR7R4JO13tuxq5PNAGf_-nZtP1ksmH_w11spZDzbdR9417MIZDreabg3gXzxOg_aem_pIAnp_lfkjDAs5CpADSZtw">the coalition said this week</a> in response to the order for lifestyle checks.</p><p>&quot;The President and his Cabinet should also publish their SALNs to lead by example,&quot; it also said as it made the same challenge to senators and House members &quot;given that they are being linked to the projects not only through congressional insertions, but also through relationships with contractors.&quot;</p><p>None have done that so far, leaving the public to seek online accountability as investigations by the executive branch and by both houses of Congress plod on. </p><p>The shame campaign has had some misses because of similarities in names and surnames and some social media users have raised concerns over the mental health of the young and wealthy who have been pilloried online.</p><p>But Kabataan Party-List Rep. Renee Co, in a Facebook post over the weekend, pointed out that the &quot;nepo babies&quot; are actually already adults and deserve less public sympathy than those whose lives are affected by corruption and government inefficiency.</p><p>&quot;Valid ang galit ng taumbayan dahil mali ang magnakaw, period (The people&#x27;s anger is valid because stealing is wrong),&quot; she said.</p><p>She added the wealthy offspring of politicians and contractors have a &quot;valid choice&quot; to join the rest of the country calling for accountability for faulty or &#x27;ghost&#x27; flood control projects that have prompted the online backlash.</p>

<p>Frustrated by reported corruption in infrastructure projects and by the flooding attributed to it, some on social media have started documenting the lavish lifestyles of politicians and construction contractors and of their relatives.</p>

Frustrated by reported corruption in infrastructure projects and by the flooding attributed to it, some on social media have started documenting the lavish lifestyles of politicians and construction contractors and of their relatives.

WRAP: Some turn to online ‘lifestyle checks’ amid frustrations over flooding

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WRAP: Some turn to online ‘lifestyle checks’ amid frustrations over flooding

Jonathan de Santos,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 31, 2025 10:47 PM PHT

|

Updated Sep 01, 2025 01:09 AM PHT

Read More:

Lifestyle checks

Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees

Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act

SALN

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