MANILA, Philippines – Since assuming the second highest post in the country, Vice President Leni Robredo’s wealth dipped by over P2 million – a drop of 19.7% over a 6-month period.
In contrast, her predecessor, former vice president Jejomar Binay, saw his net worth drop by only around P666,000 within the first 6 months of his term back in 2010.
In her June 2016 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), Robredo – who had previously served as Camarines Sur 3rd district representative – declared a net worth of P11.05 million. Six months later, her net worth dropped to P8.88 million, a difference of over P2 million, or a 19.7% drop in her wealth.
Her predecessor, meanwhile, began his term with a net worth more than 5 times Robredo’s own. Binay, a longtime mayor of Makati City, had a net worth of P58.76 million as of June 2010.
Six months later, it dropped slightly to P58.1 million – a difference of only around P666,000, or a 1.13% difference.
Comparing Robredo and Binay
Robredo’s drop in her net worth as of December 2016 was due to the decrease in her cash assets.
In both her June and December 2016 SALNs, personal properties comprised the bulk of her assets.
In her entry SALN, Robredo had P11.12 million worth of cash, as well as jewelry, furniture, and prepaid insurance acquired during various years. She also declared having a Toyota Innova worth P1.12 million acquired in 2010, and a Toyota Grandia worth P1.75 million acquired in 2014.
All in all, her personal assets totalled P16.22 million.
Meanwhile, Robredo also listed 8 real properties worth P1.74 million, all located in Naga City.
From P11.12 million worth of cash in June 2016, this dropped to P8.94 million in December 2016 – or a difference of over P2 million.
Her camp said on Thursday, May 18, that expenses in the election protest filed by losing vice presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr affected Robredo’s net worth.
“Vice President Leni Robredo’s net worth decreased due mostly to expenses in relation to the election protest filed by Bongbong Marcos, such as filing fee, as well as family and personal expenses,” lawyer Barry Gutierrez said in a statement.
There were no changes in Robredo's 8 real estate properties in Naga City: she has two residential lots, 3 agricultural lots, one orchard, a memorial lot in Eternal Gardens, and the Robredo residence.
Meanwhile, personal properties also comprised the bulk of Binay’s wealth. His June 2010 entry SALN listed P41.88 million worth of personal properties, with cash on hand amounting to P17.34 million.
He also listed receivables (P11 million), furniture, antiques, and clothing (P6.93 million), jewelry (P1.10 million), and vehicles (P1.57 million). He likewise had P3.94 million listed as “investment in business”, with a note saying it was the “exclusive property of spouse.”
Binay in June 2010 had P16.88 million worth of real properties, covering 12 lots: 8 residential lots in Makati, Muntinlupa, Laguna, Cavite, and Batangas; a residential house in Makati; and 3 agricultural land in Batangas, Bataan, and Isabela.
Six months into his term, Binay’s net worth dipped slightly by around P666,000. While his real properties remained the same, and his personal properties even increased by around P827,000, what contributed to his slight drop in net worth was P1.49 million worth of liabilities. Binay listed “income tax payables” to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Robredo’s previous SALNs
When Robredo won the vice presidency in the 2016 elections, she was then a relative newcomer to politics. She began her political career only in 2013, when she ran and won as Camarines Sur 3rd District representative.
Her SALNs from December 2013 to December 2016 show her net worth increasing by 7.1% over a 3-year period. From P8.29 million in December 2013, her wealth grew slightly to P8.88 million as of December 2016.
But what’s notable in her SALN filings was the jump in her net worth from December 2015 to June 2016, when she entered office. During that 6-month period, her wealth increased from P8.7 million to P11.1 million – a difference of over P2.3 million, or a jump of 26.88%.
This was due to an increase in her personal properties – particularly in her cash assets – and a decrease in her liabilities. From P15.38 million worth of personal assets in December 2015, this increased to P16.22 million by June 2016, owing to an increase of more than P841,000 in her cash assets.
Meanwhile, her liabilities dropped from P8.4 million as of December 2015 to P6.9 million as of June 2016.
In her 2013 to 2016 SALNs, Robredo also listed her shares of stock in the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) under “business interests and financial connections,” without specifying any declared value.
The Impeach Leni movement is alleging that Robredo is liable for “misdeclaration” in her SALN because she did not declare the value of the Meralco shares.
Clerical inconsistencies
Notably, Robredo's earlier SALNs had what appeared to be clerical inconsistencies, specifically on the computation of the sum of her real and personal properties.
These have apparently been corrected and do not appear anymore in her latest December 2016 SALN.
In her SALNs for June 2013, December 2013, and December 2014, the total amount of real properties she declared does not match the sum of the amounts of each real property she listed.
This may be because of the amount she declared for her residential house in Dayangdang, Naga City. In those SALNS, she said it had an acquisition cost of P1,200. If the computed total was the one declared (see table below), Robredo's net worth for those years could have been lower.
In 2015, she seemed to have revised the cost of the residential house to P1.2 million. Since then, the total amount has checked out.
With or without this inconsistency, the list of real properties and its total amount (P1.735 million) that Robredo declared has remained the same since 2013.
| Properties in Naga City | SALNs before 2015 | SALNs since 2015 |
| Residential house (in Dayangdang) | 1,200 | 1,200,000 |
| 2 agricultural lots (in Del Rosario)* | 195,000 | 195,000 |
| Orchard lot (in Pacol) | 250,000 | 250,000 |
| Residential lot (in Sta. Cruz) | 60,000 | 60,000 |
| Agricultural lot (in Panicuason) | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| Declared total | P1,735,000 | P1,735,000 |
| Computed total | P536,200 | P1,735,000 |
Note: Two properties were declared as donations and did not have acquisition costs.
* - amount first declared in Dec 2013
Also, in her 2014 SALN, the total amount of personal properties she declared – at P13,197,123.70 – is a little bit higher than the computed sum of each property, at P13,152,123.70. It is a difference of only P45,000.
– Rappler.com