The House of Representatives (HoR) has released the summary of the sworn statements of assets, liabilities and net worth of congressmen of the 17th Congress, nearly 4 months after the deadline for the filing of the declarations lapsed.
Based on the list posted by the HoR website, 1PACMAN Partylist Rep Michael Odylon Romero is the richest congressman with a net worth of PhP 7,009,588,018.00 as of December 31, 2016.
The richest Congressman of the 17th Congress has been absent since January 2017. Romero has not been seen in the House since he was ordered arrested by a Manila Regional Trial Court January this year over allegations that he stole PhP 3.4 million from his family-owned Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI). Romero was last marked present in a plenary session of the House December 14, 2016, according the published journals of the House.
The top 15 richest lawmakers by net worth are:
- Michael Odylon Romero (1PACMAN) – PhP 7,009,588,018.00
- Emmeline Aglipay Villar (DIWA) – PhP 1,409,149,497.00
- Alfredo Benitez (3rd District, Negros Occidental) – PhP 942,964,471.00
- Imelda Marcos (2nd District, Ilocos Norte) – PhP 917,800,000.00
- Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (4th District, Quezon City) – PhP 852,132,586.81
- Virgilio Lacson (MANILA TEACHERS) – PhP 768,824,757.93
- Bayani Fernando (1st District, Marikina) – PhP 738,000,000.00
- Vilma Santos (6th District, Batangas) – PhP 522, 610,452.59
- Antonio Floirendo (2nd District, Davao del Norte) – PhP 491,710,128.16
- Yedda Marie Romualdez (1st District, Leyte) – PhP 477,940,905.59
- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga) – PhP 434,636,322.52
- Rosanna Vergara (3rd District, Nueva Ecija) – PhP 310,384,471.16
- Michael John Duavit (1st District, Rizal) – PhP 263,466,370.20
- Abraham Tolentino (7th District, Cavite) – PhP 258,675,231.11
- Ferjenel Biron (4th District, Iloilo) – PhP 241,810,450.55
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez ranked 24th with PhP 177,263,287.96, while House Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas was 25th with PhP 169,130,000.00.
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was just the 50th richest congresssman with a net worth of PhP 86,498,186.34.
Kabataan Party List Rep. Sarah Jane Elago was named the poorest congresswoman with a net worth of PhP 50,000.
Story: ABS-CBN News
