Cunanan grilled in Senate over electric bills, travels, lifestyle

By: Maila Ager - 11 years ago

Cunanan almost broke into tears while giving his statement to the Senate. KRISTINE SABILLO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Senators on Thursday scrutinized Dennis Cunanan’s lifestyle, starting from his electricity bill up to his alleged frequent travels abroad, when he faced the Senate blue ribbon committee on Thursday.

For someone who lives in a posh subdivision in Quezon City, Senator Grace Poe wondered how Cunanan manages to pay only P10,000 in electric bill every month.

Cunanan, director general on-leave of the Technology Resource Center, said that his net worth was P2, 161, 547 while his taxable income every year was P776, 216.

“Lumalabas na halos P63,000 ang suweldo mo buwan-buwan. Mga magkano ang kuryenteng binabayaran mo? (It appears that you’re getting almost P63,000 salary every month. How much do you pay for your electric bill?)” Poe asked.

“Misis ko po kasi ang nagbabayad (My wife’s the one paying). I suppose it’s in the range of P10,000 to P11,000…” Cunanan said.

“Parang imposible kasi ang P10,000 sa ganung klaseng…pasensya na kasi…may dating yung bahay at sa tingin ko kung mga ganun lang (ang inyong kuryente), parang magrereklamo ako, bakit ganun lang? (It seems it’s impossible that you’d pay P10,000 for a house like that. Pardon me but the house has impact and from what I see, if it’s like that, regarding your electricity bill, I would complain),” Poe said.

But Cunanan said they were using economy savers and that his wife, who hailed from Pangasinan, has been good at saving their electricity consumptions.

“Ang tatay ko ay taga-Pangasinan rin. Kahit noong nabubuhay s’ya ay hindi pa rin ganun na P10,000 o P11,000 ang kuryente (My father was also from Pangasinan. Even when he was alive, our electricity bill won’t reached those figures, P10,000 to P11,000),” said Poe, referring to the late famous actor-director-producer, National Artist for Film Fernando Poe Jr.

“Kahit na P63,000 ang sweldo— P10,000 sa kuryente, meron pang mga stickers sa kotse, gasolina pa. Mahirap intindihin…(Even if your salary is P63,000, with P10,000 for electric bill, you’d still have stickers (LTO, among others), gasoline too. It’s hard to figure it out…” Poe added.

Cunanan also clarified that he was just renting the house of his brother in White Plains.

Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., who sent his questions to Cunanan through the committee, also questioned Cunanan’s lifestyle, including his vehicles and travels abroad.

And to prove that there was nothing irregular with his lifestyle, Cunanan produced a certification to prove that most of his travels abroad were covered by his functions as an official of the Junior Chamber International (JCI), a non-sectarian, non-political youth service organization.

“This letter certifies that Mr. Dennis Cunanan served JCI in several capacities since 2008,

namely as JCI vice president in 2008, chief executive assistant in 2009, general legal counsel in 2010, and executive vice president in 2011,” said the certification dated March 2 and signed by JCI deputy secretary general Arrey Obenson.

“In the aforementioned capacities both elected and appointed, Mr. Cunanan was assigned budget annually which covered his airfares, and lodging expenses for all travel that was related to his duties.”

Cunanan’s travels in 2012 related to his position as secretary general of the JCI, it further said, have also been covered by the chamber.