Ex-Budget exec Lao’s net worth up by P11M in five years

FILE PHOTO: Lloyd Christopher Lao
PS-PHILGEPS PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines —In five years in government,  Lloyd Christopher Lao’s net worth increased by P11 million due to family businesses and old properties he sold last year.

During the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon brought up Lao’s statement of assets and statements of assets and liabilities and net worth (SALN).

The panel has been looking into the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis, including the alleged overpriced personal protective equipment purchased when Lao was still the head of the Procurement Service of DBM (PS-DBM).

READ: Ex-DBM exec Lao’s name resurfaces as senators hit ‘overpriced’ face masks, shields

Drilon noted that Lao’s net worth grew from P36 million in 2019 to P41 million in 2020.

Lao confirmed this but noted his net worth was already around  P30 million even before he joined the government in 2016.

“(When) I entered government, my networth is already around  P30 million,” he told the panel.

Lao first joined the government as undersecretary of the Presidential Management Staff in June 2016 before moving to the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) as chief executive officer and commissioner in 2017.

In 2019, he became undersecretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and was appointed executive director of  PS-DBM in January 2020. He only left government service this year.

According to Lao, he received around P100,000 monthly pay when he was in   PMS and  HLURB, and P175,000 when he was at the helm of  PS-DBM.

When Drilon asked about the  P5 million increase in his net worth in 2020,  Lao said one of the reasons was “because there were so many deaths” last year that he was able to sell 40 of the 140 memorial lots he received as payment from a client about 15 years ago.

Aside from the memorial lots,  Lao said he also sold some properties, including a golf course residence he bought about eight to 12 years ago.

“I sold it for one reason. I sold it because  I was planning to buy property adjacent to my house in Davao City,” he said.

According to Drilon, Lao also declared  P15.78 million and US $100,138 cash assets or a total of P20 million as of 2020.

“Can you explain where all this cash came from?” the senator asked.

Responding to Drilon, Lao said, “The dollar account is my account before I entered the government. My peso account is being handled by my wife. We have  two  businesses and one school so that’s basically it.”

Drilon then asked Lao to submit to the Senate panel all his SALNs since 2016.