The Philippines’ first family has signalled its readiness to open its finances to scrutiny after allegations that President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s son received a disproportionate share of public works funding, deepening a political crisis that has already forced several senior officials from office.
Such financial inspections – known locally as lifestyle checks and used to detect unexplained wealth among public officials – have taken on new urgency as the government confronts the widening corruption scandal over “ghost” flood-control projects that were allegedly substandard or never built, a controversy now fuelling nationwide anger amid a year of deadly typhoons.
A report last week revealed that Ilocos Norte lawmaker Sandro Marcos, the president’s eldest son, secured about 15.8 billion Philippine pesos (US$269 million) in funding from the Department of Public Works and Highways between 2023 and 2025, making his district one of the country’s top grant recipients despite having a population of fewer than 320,000.
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Presidential Communications Officer Claire Castro said the president was aware of the disclosure and welcomed a lifestyle check on his family to clear the air regarding the corruption accusations.
Philippine church group protests against flood-control corruption scandal
Philippine church group protests against flood-control corruption scandal
“That option has always been there. No one is excluded from undergoing a lifestyle check,” Castro said on Tuesday.
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She added that the first family had been “open” to such an audit even before the multibillion-peso flood-control corruption scandal erupted earlier this year, sparking nationwide anti-corruption protests demanding accountability.