The House of Representatives has defended Speaker Martin Romualdez against fresh attacks from acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, insisting that unlike the Dutertes, the Speaker’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) is properly filed and open for scrutiny.
House spokesperson Princess Abante said Duterte’s challenge to review Romualdez’s SALN was nothing more than an attempt to discredit the Speaker, calling it “absurd fabrications” and part of a smear campaign.
“Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s latest tirade is another baseless attempt to smear Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez. The figures he cites are nothing but absurd fabrications — proof once again of the Dutertes’ penchant for fake news,” Abante said in a statement.
She also underscored the “irony” of Duterte’s attack, noting that the Duterte family has long resisted making their own SALNs public despite holding power for years. “What makes this even more ironic is that the Dutertes are known for keeping their own SALNs a closely guarded secret, refusing to make them public despite years in power. Now they dare lecture others about transparency? That is hypocrisy of the highest order,” Abante added.
Abante further dared the Dutertes to release their own documents if they truly believe in accountability. “The Speaker’s SALN, unlike theirs, is filed in accordance with law and open for proper scrutiny. If the Dutertes truly believe in accountability, they should start by releasing their own SALNs to the public, instead of inventing lies to cover up their own failures,” she said.
The clash follows Baste Duterte’s call earlier this week for the scrutiny of Romualdez’s SALN along with other lawmakers’. The controversy recalls long-standing questions over former president Rodrigo Duterte’s own SALN, which Malacañang repeatedly refused to release despite multiple requests.
In 2021, the Office of the Ombudsman even blocked petitions to access Duterte’s SALN, with Ombudsman Samuel Martires later proposing penalties for those who publish commentaries on such disclosures. Despite these restrictions, Malacañang at the time maintained that Duterte had filed his SALN, though it remained inaccessible to the public.
