(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is willing to undergo a lifestyle check along with all members of the executive branch, Malacañang said Friday. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro issued the statement after Sen. Risa Hontiveros challenged the President to set an example by subjecting himself to a lifestyle check that he has ordered for all government officials. Castro said the President was even open to disclosing his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN). “All members of the Executive are ready for a lifestyle check, including the President,” she said during a press briefing. Marcos ordered a lifestyle check on all government officials involved in flood control projects, beginning with the Department of Public Works and Highways, to promote accountability across the bureaucracy. Lawmakers have pressed for broader transparency, including a call from Hontiveros for Marcos to make public his SALN. Castro warned against shifting the conversation or politicizing the matter. “The issue now is to go after those involved in the flood control projects. Let’s not divert and politicize the matter,” she said. Castro said SALN disclosures were inherently part of a lifestyle check. Castro also reiterated that the Office of the Ombudsman, as an independent constitutional body, could carry out its own investigation of anomalous government projects. “We mentioned the Ombudsman because they have authority to initiate investigations on this matter. But since they are independent, it is up to them to decide on the process or mechanics,” she said. The Office of the Vice President (OVP) indicated it is ready for a lifestyle check, but added that Vice President Sara Duterte herself remained mum over whether she would subject herself to one. Speaking to reporters during the tree-planting activity of the OVP in Hermosa, Bataan, on Friday, OVP spokesman Ruth Castelo said the agency’s officials and employees are ready to subject themselves to a lifestyle check. “As we have always been, the Office of the Vice President is mindful of the provision in the constitution that public office is a public trust, and we are supposed to live modest lives. We are mindful of that, and if the President wants all civil servants to follow, we will follow, too,” Castelo said. Asked if Duterte will open her SALN to the public, Castelo said there are mechanisms to follow when one is requesting a SALN of any government official or employee. “We are just asked to submit it and that’s where they will submit their request,” Castelo said. In her latest interview from The Hague, Duterte did not mention if she would release her or her family’s SALN, but instead spoke up on using overseas Filipino workers as possible consultants of the Marcos administration to resolve issues such as flood control. She also advised the President to control the budget from the regional development council, up to the national development council, up to the Cabinet level and only follow what was discussed based on the development plan. “The President should know what is included in the budget. Secondly, the President should not allow legislators to tinker with it,” Duterte said. In an online interview on Friday, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said the Senate and the House of Representatives should not be the ones to do the lifestyle check. Zubiri, the Senate deputy minority leader, suggested that a third party do the checking. “It seems not right that Congress and the Senate lead the investigation. There should be a third party led by government investigators and civil society [groups],” Zubiri said in Filipino. “These are things that we are taking into consideration. What if you have colleagues who might be exposed [having questionable wealth],” he added. “There are politicians who have no huge income but ride in Rolls Royces, Ferraris,” he said. Senate President Francis Escudero, and Senators JV Ejercito and Francis Pangilinan support the President’s call for a lifestyle check. Escudero expressed hope the President would also “support and include as part of his priority legislative agenda” two bills that he filed that would complement his initiatives to curb corruption. He filed Senate Bill (SB) 232 mandating government officials and employees to allow the examination of their deposits and investments “thereby waiving the Bank Secrecy Law.” Escudero also filed SB 783, or the proposed law disqualifying relatives of public officials within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity and affinity in all government contracts. Pangilinan noted the social media posts showing the lavish lifestyles of the family members and relatives of those allegedly behind the flood control ghost projects. He called on Filipinos to be vigilant and to report on politicians’ and public servants’ “extravagant lifestyles.”