The Office of the Ombudsman has officially initiated lifestyle checks on 107 government officials as part of an expanding probe into unexplained wealth across state agencies.
Speaking at a House budget briefing, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla confirmed the ongoing reviews following an inquiry from Akbayan Party-list Representative Chel Diokno regarding the status of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s August 27, 2025 directive reinstating lifestyle checks across the bureaucracy.
“We’re doing this right now, Your Honor. We have 107 lifestyle checks being conducted, as we speak,” Remulla said, while opting not to disclose the names of the individuals currently under investigation.
Remulla explained that the number of subjects is expected to rise as investigators gather further intelligence on personnel suspected of accumulating ill-gotten wealth.
He noted that the oversight efforts are particularly focused on revenue-earning bureaus where systemic corruption typically occurs.
“And we are adding more to the list because we have been actively pursuing information on the people in Customs, in LTO and other income-generating agencies of the government because this is where most of the lifestyle sins happen, including the BIR, Your Honor,” he emphasized.
Diokno expressed support for the initiative, observing that earlier enforcement of lifestyle checks could have identified previous administrative irregularities much sooner.
“I’m very happy to hear that you have been conducting lifestyle checks. Kasi malaman kung masagawa po sana natin yan noon, yung nangyari kaya halimbawa kay Usec (Roberto) Bernardo (ng Department of Public Works and Highways) who had to return ₱500 million, I’m sure a lifestyle check would have already shown us that there are issues insofar as his governance are concerned,” Diokno stated.