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Senator Cynthia Villar is still the richest member of the Philippine Senate, with her wealth further spiking in 2019.

Based on the summary of senators’ SALNs posted on the Senate’s official website, Villar tallied the highest net worth among her colleagues as of December 31, 2019, with P3,814,091,438.

This is over P94 million higher than her net worth of P3,719,941,858 in 2018, when she also emerged as the richest senator.

Villar and her husband, former Senate president and business tycoon Manny Villar, own the Philippines’ biggest homebuilder Vista Land, and shopping center developer Starmalls Incorporated. They also own Golden Bria, a housing and condominium developer. 

Backed by her vast financial resources, wide public and private networks, and decades of politics, Villar emerged as the top senatorial bet in the 2019 senatorial elections. (READ: The rise of Cynthia Villar: How politics, money, networks made her No. 1)

The second richest senator in 2019 is boxing icon turned Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, who declared a net worth of P3,172,524,957.50. In 2018, Pacquiao’s wealth was at P3,005,808,000.

Villar and Pacquiao are the only billionaires in the Senate in the 18th Congress. 

Detained Senator Leila de Lima, President Rodrigo Duterte’s fiercest critic in the Senate, is the poorest senator in 2019 with a net worth of P8,323,470.91. This is higher by over P617,000 than her 2018 wealth of P7,706,392.45. 

De Lima has been in jail since 2017 over what she has long described as trumped-up drug charges against her. 

Among senators, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III recorded the highest increase in wealth year-on-year. From P28,662,212 in 2018, Pimentel’s net worth in 2019 rose by 26.68% to P36,308,400, an increase of over P7.6 million.

Two senators – Sherwin Gatchalian and Richard “Dick” Gordon – recorded decreases in their wealth between 2018 to 2019. 

Gatchalian’s wealth is now down to P95,404,344.93 in 2019 from P96,210,607.14 in 2018. For Gordon, his 2019 net worth of P71,207,733.95 is slightly lower than his 2018 wealth at P71,285,178.56

Here is the list of senators’ 2019 net worth, ranked from highest to lowest:

• Cynthia Villar: P3,814,091,438
• Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao: P3,172,524,957.50
• Ralph Recto: P567,438,429.81
• Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri: P203,667,746.67
• Bong Revilla: P176,363,262.74
• Sonny Angara: P142,212,659
• Franklin Drilon: P102,259,501
• Grace Poe: P97,631,508.03
• Sherwin Gatchalian: P95,404,344.93
• Pia Cayetano: P82,774,150.15
• Vicente “Tito” Sotto III: P77,772,861.57
• Richard “Dick” Gordon: P71,207,733.95
• Manuel “Lito” Lapid: P70,948,600
• Francis Tolentino: P61,172,000
• Nancy Binay: P60,318,928
• Panfilo “Ping” Lacson: P48,959,138.98
• Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III: P36,308,400
• Imee Marcos: P34,020,467
• Ronald dela Rosa: P33,025,241.41
• Joel Villanueva: P30,249,305
• Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan: P19,975,821.25
• Christopher “Bong” Go: P18,391,012.8
• Risa Hontiveros: P16,050,112.22
• Leila de Lima: P8,323,470.91

– with reports from Michael Bueza/Rappler.com