CAPAS, Tarlac, Philippines — Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, who spent the most in the senatorial campaign of 2019, is second poorest in a pantheon of millionaires at the chamber.
Go, who continues to be the most trusted confidante of President Rodrigo Duterte, said he didn’t mind being in the low rung of senators in terms of their net worth.
He said while he may not be as rich as the others, he was rich in his desire for service.
Go had a net worth of only P15.5 million, according to his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) filed at the Senate. The only senator poorer than Go, if their SALNs are to be the basis, was Leila de Lima, who is currently detained on what she had described as trumped up drug charges.
READ: Villar still richest senator, De Lima is poorest
“Here in the Senate, it’s not about who’s the richest,” said Go in Filipino.
“I don’t want to compete with them. Let the basis be service to the Filipino people,” he told reporters at an interview on Wednesday, Oct. 16.
If service was the basis, he said he would be the richest among the senators.
“I’m the richest in service. Let’s just compete in industriousness,” he said.
Go, according to his statement of contributions and expenditures submitted at the Commission on Elections (Comelec), spent more than P161 million during the senatorial campaign. These were either cash or kind donated to his campaign kitty.
Sen. Cynthia Villar, whose family owns one of the country’s biggest real estate companies, is still the richest senator with a net worth of at least P3.5 billion. Sen. Manny Pacquiao, whose fortunes grew with his boxing popularity, was next with a net worth of a little over P3 billion./TSB
Below is the complete ranking of senators based on their declared net worth:
1. Cynthia Villar – P3,534,412,797 (as of June 30, 2019)
2. Manny Pacquiao – P3,005,808,000 (as of December 31, 2018)
3. Ralph Recto – P555,324,479.82 (as of December 31, 2018)
4. Juan Miguel Zubiri – P182,851,570.34 (as of December 31, 2019)
5. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. – P164,203,379.38 (as of June 30, 2019)
6. Sonny Angara – P139,026,597 (ss of June 30, 2019)
7. Franklin Drilon – P97,726,758 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
8. Sherwin Gatchalian – P96,210,607.14 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
9. Grace Poe – P95,693,450.37 (as of June 30, 2019)
10. Pia Cayetano – P82,308,227.36 (as of July 1, 2019)
11. Richard Gordon – P71,285,178.56 (as of December 31, 2018)
12. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III – P70,120,700.30 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
13. Lito Lapid – P69,910,000 (as of June 30, 2019)
14. Francis Tolentino – P62,482,000 (as of June 30, 2019)
15. Nancy Binay – P59,911,019 (as of June 30, 2019)
16. Panfilo Lacson – P42,442,341 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
17. Imee Marcos – P29,970,467 (as of June 30, 2019)
18. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III – P29,934,635 (as of June 30, 2019)
19. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa – P28,258,908 (as of June 30, 2019)
20. Joel Villanueva – P26,921,555 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
21. Francis Pangilinan – P16,695,048.17 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
22. Risa Hontiveros – P15,627,176.04 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
23. Christopher “Bong” Go – P15,508,370.82 (as of June 30, 2019)
24. Leila de Lima – P7,706,392.45 (as of December 31, 2018)