President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is open to any question on her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), her lawyer Atty. Romulo Macalintal said Monday.

“Since she had already submitted her SALN to the Ombudsman, the President invites anyone who may have reservations to question the same before that agency if he or she has any evidence that the President violated or did not comply with the constitutional requirements in the filing of such disclosure documents,” he said in a press briefing.

“The President assures the public that she filed the SALN in good faith without any intention to deceive anyone…She made a truthful disclosure of her assets and liabilities as required by the Constitution. She made it to the best of her knowledge and upon the consultation with her husband.”

“The President reiterates that she has never used and will never use or take advantage of her position for personal profits as she had declared in her State of the Nation Address and as expected of her by the people,” he added.

He said the President vehemently denied a report of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) alleging defect or her noncompliance with the law in reporting her SALN.

According to the report, Mrs. Arroyo’s net worth increased to P143.54 million in 2008 from R66.8 million in 2001 when she assumed office.

In a radio interview, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the increase in assets was due to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo’s investments in real estate. The First Gentleman's lawyer Ruy Rondain said the President and her husband stand by what was reported in her SALN.

“Sinasabi na hindi nakalagay ang stock holdings sa SALN. Hindi kasi required na ilagay. Palagi nga naming iniinsist na kung kulang, kung deficient yung SALN, let’s wait for the proper agencies to tell us, so we can supply the deficiency,” he said.

In the Senate, Sen. Francis Escudero said he finds it incredible that Mrs. Arroyo’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities shows that her net worth increase is much bigger than the combined increases of three former Philippine presidents.

The increase of P76.74 million from 2001 to 2008 represents a growth rate of 114 percent.

“Hindi ko pa nakikita yung kanyang SAL pero sa pagkakaalam ko limitado at maliit ang sweldo ng Presidente. Maraming conflict of interest ang Presidente at hindi niya pwedeng pag-interesan iyon at sa pagkakaalam ko rin maraming limitasyon na mga hindi pwedeng gawin ng Presidente,” Escudero said.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said: “There’s a law that public officials have a responsibility to the people to account for their wealth. It’s in the Constitution—accountability of public officials. And, of course, nasa anti-graft (law) din. In other words, may mga batas at nasa Saligang Batas which compel public officials like the President to account for their wealth,” Pimentel added.

United Opposition (UNO) spokesman Ernesto Maceda said the President’s
partial disclosure of her sources of income poses an alarming cause of concern for the public.

The PCIJ report said that while the President’s net worth increased by about 114 percent since she assumed the presidency in 2001, her SALNs “offer few clues on how she raised the big difference, or whether she has other lawful sources of income.”

The increase of P76.74 million represents a growth rate of 114 percent, which is way too far from former President Corazon Aquino’s 4.8 percent from 1989 to 1992, President
Fidel Ramos’ 34.2 percent from 1992 to 1998, and Joseph Estrada’s 7.2 percent from 1998 to 1999, Maceda said.