PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday said they are willing to open their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, after the Office of the Ombudsman lifted restrictions that prevented the public from getting access to these documents. “Finally,” Marcos said in a press conference when asked for his reaction to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla’s order to give the public access to officials’ SALNs. “We will follow the new rules — sorry, we will follow the old rules. These old rules were suspended in the last administration. I was quite surprised to find out when I first came into office that it was almost impossible to get a copy of people’s SALN. My SALN is — it will be available to whoever would like to have it. Of course, I will give it to them,” he added. The president also enjoined members of his Cabinet to do the same for transparency. Sotto also said he can share his SALN “anytime.” He said he would ask his fellow senators if they too would like to open their SALNs to the public. “I will seek their permission. [Insofar as I’m concerned] anytime [I’m] ready,” Sotto said in a text message. Senators JV Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Kiko Pangilinan, and Joel Villanueva also supported the Ombudsman’s move to reopen SALN to the public. “This is timely as the public is longing for transparency in the wake of the floodgate scandals that rocked the government. Maybe some vital information with regard to security issues should not be disclosed for the safety of the family,” Ejercito said. Pangilinan said, “We welcome this because it is clear in the law to make SALN open to the public.” Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima also welcomed the decision of Remulla to relax the rules on public access SALN. Assistant Ombudsman Jose Dominic Clavano IV, the office’s spokesman, said in a press briefing on Tuesday that under the new policy, “there is no need for consent on the part of the public officer whose SALN is requested.” In a statement on Wednesday, the Makabayan bloc of lawmakers in the House said they believe that the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision “is long overdue and is much needed now.” “This is a step forward for transparency and accountability,” ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said.