Robert Abela and his associates believe they are not accountable to anyone and continue to reject every request to disclose their holdings, the Nationalist Party said Tuesday.

Despite being rebuked by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, Abela remains adamant in hiding his own assets as well as those of his colleagues.

Abela is using every possible means to block requests for information regarding the asset declarations of himself, his Ministers, and his Parliamentary Secretaries, which are legally required and have been sought by multiple newsrooms. In recent days, it was revealed that he personally blocked a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by Times of Malta, the PN said.

Now, The Shift News has had to turn to the Data Protection Commissioner to investigate why the Prime Minister continues to reject these Freedom of Information requests, and whether this is being done in violation of the law regulating such disclosures.

The PN condemns this secrecy, which only further confirms what former Minister Evarist Bartolo had previously stated about some of his colleagues that there is "a law for the gods and another for the animals."

Robert Abela and his Government have abandoned all respect for transparency, accountability, and good governance, showing utter disregard for the Maltese people, the PN said.

The fact that the request has been repeatedly denied only raises further serious doubts about what Abela and his Ministers have to hide.

This also reinforces the notion that the government is willing to act against democratic principles and withhold information from the public to protect itself while failing entirely to fulfil its duty to Parliament by addressing the problems facing the people, many of which it created in the first place.

Asset declarations exist to allow citizens to hold Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries accountable for their actions. This is a basic standard in any modern democracy and in any country that claims to fight corruption, conflicts of interest, and abuse of power, the PN said.

Today, more than ever, it is evident that Robert Abela and his Government have no regard for the people or their rights. Their only concern is their own comfort.

The more Abela and his associates act with arrogance and secrecy, the more they lose credibility with the public, the PN said.

The PN once again insists that asset declarations should be published immediately. The people have the right to know the assets and financial obligations of their leaders.

Robert Abela must stop acting like a bully who refuses to follow the rules and instead start behaving like a responsible leader with greater transparency and accountability, as is expected from a serious Prime Minister with nothing to hide, the PN said.