Roxas open to lifestyle check: I have nothing to hide

Lifestyle check? Bring it on.

Answering the call of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago for fellow presidential candidates to undergo a lifestyle check, Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas on Friday said his records were open to scrutiny.

“Ako, okay ako sa lifestyle check, bukas naman ang aking record,” Roxas told reporters in an interview during his sortie in Cavite.

“Lahat naman itong mga suporta, mga ads, ay isa-submit matapos ang halalan, kaya bukas ako, bukas lahat ng records.”

Roxas maintained he had nothing to hide as his track record was untainted by any forms of corrupt activities.

“Wala akong tinatago. Malinis po ang aking track record. Wala po tayong track record sa kahit na anong anomalya,” he said.

Santiago’s challenge came after the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) released a report exposing the advertising expenses of candidates from January 2015 to January 2016.

The report showed that all candidates, except Santiago, spent beyond their wealth as declared in their statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN).

Of the total P3.2 billion spent for campaign ads by the candidates, P1.05 billion came from Vice President Jejomar Binay. He has a net worth of P60.25 million as declared in his SALN in 2014.

Sen. Grace Poe is the second biggest ad spender at P1.016 billion despite her declared net worth of P89.46 million also in 2014.

Roxas, who has a declared net worth of P202 million, spent P969 million on ads, while Duterte spent P146 million despite his P21.97 million net worth.

Asked whether his funds came from his own pocket or from donations, he said: “May mga personal, may mga donations ng friends. It’s a combination.” RC