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| Reference Material |
| House of Representatives remains a millionaires� club By Jodeal Cadacio, Reporter May 24, 2002, Today ALMOST all of 216 congressmen grew richer during their first six months in office as can be gleaned from their latest Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SAL), which again showed the House of Representatives as a circle of millionaires. Only two lawmakers � Party-list Reps. Crispin Beltran and Satur Ocampo, both of Bayan Muna � are non-millionaires, both declaring a net worth of P81,000 and P723,330, respectively. Lakas Rep. Manuel �Way Kurat� Zamora of Compostela Valley, who used to be the �poorest� man in the House, is now a millionaire. His net worth increased from P534,530 as of July 2001 to P1.6 million as of December 31, 2001. Lakas Rep. Cynthia Villar of Las Pinas City, who counts herself as a member of the opposition bloc, is the richest member of the House, with a declared net worth of P405.5 million, as of December 31, 2001. In her previous SAL, Villar�s net worth stood at only P331.4 million. Villar outranked Independent Rep. Mark Jimenez of Manila, who came in second, with a net worth of P355.8 million. Jimenez was the richest man in the House based on his previous SAL in which he declared the same amount of net worth. Lakas Rep. Augusto Syjuco of Iloilo came in third with a net worth of P248.7 million, slightly higher than his previous net worth of P248.5 million. He was followed by Lakas Rep. Vicente Sandoval of Palawan, whose net worth increased from P240.65 million to P242.4 million. Lakas Rep. Abdullah Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte is on fifth spot, with a net worth of P107.9 million, up by about P700,000 from his previous SAL. Liberal Party Rep. Rafael Nantes of Quezon, who came in sixth, declared a net worth of P107.4 million; followed by Independent Rep. Jack Enrile of Cagayan, whose net worth increased slightly from P92.1 million to P92.4 million; Nationalist People�s Coalition Rep. Mark Cojuangco of Pangasinan, with a net worth of P86.6 million; Independent Rep. Ismael Mathay III of Quezon City, P81.9 million; and Liberal Party Rep. Joey Hizon of Manila, who came in 10th spot with a net worth of P79.4 million, slightly higher than his previous P78.4 million. NPC Rep. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. of Tarlac has a net worth of P75.1 million, compared to his previous net worth of P74.5 million. Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. of Makati City is the 12th richest member of the House, whose net worth remained at P73.2 million���. ***** |