After detention, are 3 PDAF senators richer or poorer?

 

MANILA, Philippines – Did imprisonment have an effect on the net worth of the 3 senators implicated in the multi-billion-peso pork barrel scam?

Based on their latest Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), Senators Bong Revilla Jr and Juan Ponce Enrile even enjoyed a higher net worth in 2014 – the year they were detained.

In their latest wealth declaration, Revilla reported a 9.09% increase in his net worth (from P166.72 million in 2013 to P181.87 million in 2014), while Enrile posted a 1.4% jump in his weath (from P119.38 million in 2013 to P121.05 million in 2014).

These percentage increases are, in fact, higher compared to those they incurred in 2013, the year they were simply implicated in the cases.

	Bong Revilla Jr		Juan Ponce Enrile
Year	Net Worth	% Increase	Net Worth	% Increase
2012	162,141,387.21	—	118,626,539	—
2013	166,715,299.76	2.82%	119,376,611	0.63%
2014	181,870,650.12	9.09%	121,053,463	1.41%

Contributing to Enrile’s higher net worth in 2014 is the increase in his personal properties. His real assets and liabilities from 2013 remain the same.

As for Revilla, both his assets and liabilities dropped in 2014. But the huge drop in his liabilities (54.12% decrease) offset the asset change (11.86% decrease), which helped push his net worth up.

Meanwhile, Senator Jinggoy Estrada registered a small 1.16% decrease in his declaration (from P195.07 million in 2013 to P192.81 million in 2014). This is the first time that his net worth dropped since 2007.

Of the 3 senators, Estrada, however, is not at the losing end. He is, in fact, the richest among the 3, and even ranks 4th with the highest net worth among all senators. Revilla ranks 5th and Enrile is 6th.

In a previous Rappler report, Estrada’s net worth jumped 133% in a span of 6 years (from 2007 to 2012), causing him to overtake Revilla as among the richer senators in the Senate.

The 3 senators were arrested and detained on separate dates in mid-2014 due to plunder and graft charges filed against them in connection with the pork barrel fund scam allegedly masterminded by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.

Same properties

In their 2014 SALN, the senators declared no new real properties and failed to declare properties linked to them in the past.

Both Enrile and Estrada declared the same properties reflected in their previous SALNs. For the older senator, he’s been declaring just one real property – a land in Nasugbu, Batangas purchased in 1972 worth P1,000 – since 1995.

Revilla, on the other hand, noted a slight drop in his real assets. No longer in his 2014 declaration is an agricultural land in Silang, Cavite which he purchased in 1987. Its acquisition cost was just P18,000.

Rappler reported in May 2014 – just days after the release of the 2013 SALNs – that Estrada and Revilla failed to declare new properties they reportedly own. Estrada admitted owning a Wack-Wack property in Mandaluyong, while Revilla opted to keep silent on his reported house in Ayala Alabang.

Both properties are still undeclared in the senators’ 2014 SALN.

More cash for Enrile

In terms of cash, whether on hand or in bank, only Enrile’s SALN shows an increase. His cash jumped by almost a million, from around P12.23 million in 2013 to P13.16 million in 2014.

Meanwhile, Estrada’s cash dropped by more than P2 million, while Revilla’s slid by around P29 million.

On separate dates in February, the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan issued a freeze order on the assets of Revilla and Estrada. Amounts covered by the freeze order are P187.79 million for Estrada and P224.51 million for Revilla. 91-year-old Enrile is yet to be served with an asset freeze order.

Will these court orders affect the 2015 assets and net worth of these 3 senators? – Rappler.com