Where the wealth of richest senators lie

The 17th Congress has two billionaire and 22 millionaire senators. Where do their wealth lie?

An analysis of the SALNs for 2016 of the senators showed that bulk of the wealth of half of the senators came from real estate. The assets of the others are mostly in cash, investments and vehicles, the documents show.

The SALNs also indicated that the net worth of 16 senators increased in December 2016 compared to their previous SALNs. The net worth of eight senators decreased, the analysis shows.

The examined statements still included those of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, whose appointment as foreign affairs secretary was recently confirmed by the Commission on Appointments.

Real estate

The biggest portion of the wealth of half or 12 of the 24 senators came from real property such as house and lots, condominium units, and agricultural lands, the SALNs indicate.

These 12 are Senators Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, Ma. Lourdes Nancy Binay, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Richard "Dick" Gordon, Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros, Loren Legarda, Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao, Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, Grace Poe-Llamanzares, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Antonio Trillanes IV, and Joel Villanueva.

In terms of actual amounts, Pacquiao declared the biggest amount of real property in his SALN—P1.57 billion, located in various parts of the country. He also declared a residential house and lot in the US with an acquisition cost of P115 million.

But in terms of proportion of real property to total assets, Poe had the biggest among the senators. Her SALN shows that her P95-million real estate is more than three quarters of her total assets. These include various residential house and lots and condominium units in the Philippines, as well as two residential house and lots in California, USA.

Poe also listed down various inherited commercial, residential and agricultural real properties, but these were not included in the computation of her total assets and net worth.

Cash, investments, cars

The SALNs also showed that five senators had cash as their largest assets: Franklin Drilon, Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, and Ralph Recto.

Of all the senators, Recto declared the biggest amount of cash at P297.95 million.

Pacquiao lumped his cash with jewelry and “other personal properties” in his SALN—all totalling P1.46 billion.

The SALNs show that four senators placed most of their wealth in investments such as shares of stocks: Alan Peter Cayetano, Sherwin Gatchalian, Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri, and Cynthia Villar.

Villar’s SALN declared “investment in stocks” costs P2.25 billion, comprising 62.39 percent of her total assets. The senator declared six business interests and financial connections, including the publicly listed Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc.

According to the Philippine Stock Exchange website, Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. is “the holding company of the Vista Group which is engaged in the development of residential subdivisions and construction of housing and condominium units.”

The SALNs of Senators Leila de Lima and Francis “Chiz” Escudero showed that a big portion of their declared assets were vehicles. 

De Lima declared four cars with a total worth of P5.63 million, equivalent to 57.44 percent of her total assets. Escudero declared three cars worth a total of P2.93 million.

In his SALN, Sen. Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV lumped together his cash on hand, bank deposits, money placement, and investments in a single entry worth P20.66 million. This represents 50.16 percent of his total assets.

Increases, decreases

An analysis of the SALNs also show that the net worth of 16 senators increased, while those of eight senators decreased.

Fifteen of the incumbent senators had filed SALNs in 2015, being sitting senators then: Angara, Aquino, Binay, Cayetano, Drilon, Ejercito, Escudero, Honasan, Legarda, Pimentel, Poe, Recto, Sotto, Trillanes, and Villar.

Six of these senators are halfway through their first term while another six are halfway through their last term. Drilon, Recto and Sotto got reelected in May last year.

GMA News Research, comparing their SALNS filed in 2015 with those filed in 2016, found out that the net worth of 10 of these 15 senators rose. They are Aquino, Escudero, Trillanes, Angara, Drilon, Villar, Cayetano, Honasan, Legarda, and Ejercito.

The SALNs also show that the net worth of five of these 15 senators fell: Poe, Pimentel, Binay, Recto, and Sotto.

Aquino had the biggest growth in net worth. His SALNs showed that his personal assets increased by 25 percent—from P19 million in 2015 to P23.78 million in 2016. His cash on hand increased from P9.83 million in 2015 to P20.66 million in 2016, the SALNs say.

Sotto’s 2015 and 2016 SALNs indicated a 4.5-percent decrease in his net worth, the biggest decline in wealth among the 15 senators. From P66.8 million in 2015, Sotto’s net worth decreased to P63.8 million in 2016. The biggest movement in his SALNs was in his liabilities, which rose from P85.41 million in 2015 to P88.901 million in 2016.

Newly elected senators

GMA News Research compared the entry SALNs, filed immediately after they assumed their posts in June or July 2016, and year-end SALNs, as of December 2016, of the nine newly elected senators. They are De Lima, Gatchalian, Gordon, Hontiveros, Lacson, Pacquiao, Pangilinan, Villanueva, and Zubiri.

The SALNs show that the net worth of six of the nine newly elected senators increased in the span of half a year: Pangilinan, Hontiveros,  Zubiri, Gordon, Pacquiao, and Lacson.

The remaining three senators—Gatchalian, de Lima, and Villanueva—had a lower net worth in December 2016 compared to June 2016, their SALNs show.

Pangilinan’s December 2016 net worth showed the highest increase among the nine senators within a year. His SALNs showed a decrease in his liabilities: from P4.08 million in June 2016 to P3.36 million in December 2016.

Villanueva had the biggest decline in net worth within a year among the newly elected senators, from P23.69 million in June 2016 to P21.52 million in December 2016. 

Villanueva’s liabilities—whom he enumerated are “loans and other payables, inclusive of personal loans, bank financing, house financing and other payables”—increased from P26.78 million in June 2016 to P29.25 million in December 2016.

Billionaires and millionaires

The SALNs showed that Villar remained the wealthiest senator, with a declared net worth of P3.6 billion. Pacquiao was the second richest P3.07 billion.

Villar’s family owns companies whose main business is real estate development, while Pacquiao is a world-renowned boxer.

Trillanes is the least wealthy senator in 2016, with a declared net worth of P6.5 million. He edged out Escudero, who had the lowest net worth among the senators in 2015. Escudero’s net worth increased by 13 percent in 2016.

Related Story: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/611244/villar-pacquiao-are-senate-billionaires-trillanes-poorest/story/

—with reports from Agatha Nell Guidaben and Mary Anne Senir, GMA News Research