224 Members of Congress Richer in 2014

224 Members of Congress Richer in 2014

May 23, 2015

At least 7 congressmen record a more than 100% increase in their 2014 net worth
MANILA, Philippines – More than half of the incumbent members of the House of Representatives were richer in 2014, based on their latest Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).

There are 224 congressmen whose net worth increased in 2014, with 7 of them recording a more than 100% increase in wealth declaration from 2013 to 2014.

Based on the SALN summary report provided by the House of Representatives on Thursday, May 21, DIWA partylist representative Emmeline Aglipay registered the biggest gain among the 290 congressmen, as she declared an over 7,000% jump in her net worth – from P9.68 million in 2013 to P689 million in 2014.

Aglipay disclosed a net worth increase after her marriage to Las Piñas Representative Mark Villar that year – a civil wedding on September 19, and a church wedding on October 1. The two submitted to Congress a joint filing of their SALN for 2014. Villar is the son of billionaire real estate developer and former senator and former congressman Manuel Villar Jr.

Other representatives whose net worth jumped by more than 100% in 2014 are:
Dinagat Island Representative Arlene Bag-ao (222.27% increase)
Anakpawis Representative Fernando Hicap (153.36% increase)
Coop NATCCO Representative Cresente Paez (123.41% increase)
Pampanga, 4th district Representative Juan Pablo Bondoc (102.86% increase)
Western Samar, 1st district Representative Mel Senen Sarmiento (101.24% increase)
Quezon City, 2nd district Representative Winston Castelo (100.5% increase)
Meanwhile, 65 representatives declared a decrease in their wealth from 2013 to 2014, while 11 others declared the same net worth for both years.

Below is the table that shows the percentage change in the net worth of all congressmen:

Richest legislators

The conjugal wealth of Aglipay and Villar made it among the highest declarations of congressmen in 2014. Making it to the top 10 highest net worth are:
Sarangani Representative Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao – P1.69 billion (up from P1.35 billion)

House Speaker and Quezon City 4th district Representative Feliciano Belmonte Jr – P921.6 million (up from P819.75 million)

Ilocos Norte 2nd district Representative Imelda Marcos – P917.8 million (down from P922.8 million)

Negros Occidental 3rd district Representative Alfredo Benitez – P845.93 million (up from P713.88 million)

Negros Occidental 1st district Representative Julio Ledesma IV – P822.28 million (up from P617.33 million)

Aglipay and Villar – P689 million (up from P9.68 million and P526.45 million, respectively)

Leyte 1st district Representative Martin Ferdinand Romualdez – P474.77 million (down from P475 million)

Rizal 1st district Representative Joel Roy Duavit – P317.98 million (up from P272.98 million)

Tarlac 1st district Representative Enrique Cojuangco – P220.57 million (up from P217.52 million)

Cavite 3rd district Representative Alex Advincula – P147.68 million (down from P202.28 million)

Except for Aglipay and Advincula, the 9 other “richest” congressmen were the same people in the top 10 list in 2013, including Cojuangco who recently died in May 2015 from an aneurysm.

Advincula dislodged in the list Maguindanao 2nd district Representative Zajid Mangudadatu, who fell from 10th spot in 2013 to the 11th spot in 2014.

See below the SALN report released by the House of Representatives, ranked based on the declared net worth:

The deadline of filing of annual SALN was on April 30./ Reynaldo Santos Jr (Rappler.com)

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