Jardeleza still richest SC justice; Leonen has least wealth

Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza remains the richest magistrate of the Supreme Court with a net worth of P261, 076, 233.24 in his 2017 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN).

Next to Jardeleza are Associate Justice Mariano Del Castillo, Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, who make up the five richest magistrates.

Associate Justice Marvic Leonen is still the magistrate with the least declared wealth on his SALN with a net worth of P2,964,314.57.

Jardeleza’s net worth has increased from P249-million in 2015 and P252,165,867.36 in 2016.

Jardeleza’s real property is still at P58.9-million while his personal property increased from P193-million to P202.1 million with no liability. He jointly filed his SALN with wife Concepcion.

On the other hand, Leonen’s net worth rose from 2016’s P2.485-million. His real properties are still pegged at P3.4 million while personal property increased to P3.1-million from P2.6 million in 2016.  He declared liabilities worth P3.6-million.

Del Castillo has a net worth of P141,540,867.20 up from P138.9 million in 2016. The value of his real properties increased from P50.9 million to P57.3-million while personal property decreased from P88.4 million in 2016 to P84.7-million in 2017 with liabilities worth P558,134.06.

Caguioa declared a net worth of P123, 800,000.00 which is P2.250-million higher from P 121.5 million in 2016.

The value of his real properties increased from P40.8 million in 2016 to P60.8-million in 2017 while his personal property decreased P80.7 million in 2016 to P63-million in 2017 with no liabilities.

Meanwhile, Carpio’s P105,878,242.70 net worth is P23.2-million higher from his P82.6 million in 2016. His real properties remain pegged at P38.3 million while his personal property rose to P67. 5 million from P44.4 million in 2016 with liabilities worth P75,000.

Fifth richest Perlas-Bernabe saw her total declared wealth go up by P3 million from P 78.2 million in 2016 to P81,299,650.23 in 2017. Her real properties are worth P55.7 million compared to P53-million in 2016 while personal property is at P25.5-million with no liabilities.

Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta is next with his net worth going up from P43.5 million in 2016 to P48,209, 650.25 million in 2017. His real property is now valued at P25.4 million from P24.2 million in 2016 while personal property is up to P22.7 million from P19.3 million in 2016 with liabilities worth P50,000.

Peralta, during his interview with the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) said his net worth increased because it was jointly filed with his wife, Court of Appeals Associate Justice Fernanda Lampas-Peralta.

He added that it also accumulated because of his chairmanship of the Bar examination committee and as member of the electoral tribunal.

Next to Peralta is Associate Justice Lucas P. Bersamin with a net worth of P44, 445,828.00 in 2017 which is P3.1-million higher from his 2016 net worth of P41.2 million. His real properties remain pegged at P33.1 million while personal property increased from P26.1 million in 2016 to PP29.2-million in 2017 with liabilities worth P18 million.

Ranked 8th is retired Supreme Court Justice, now Ombudsman Samuel Martires with a net worth of P41, 878,000. His real properties are valued at P13.3-million while his personal properties are at P28.5-million with no liability.

Meanwhile, the net worth of ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. Sereno increased to P27,340,711.80 in 2017 from P24.2 million in 2016. Her real properties increased from P7.9 million in 2016 to P8.7-million in 2017 while personal property also increased from P16.8 million to P18.6-million with liabilities worth P252,017.97.

Next to Sereno is retired Associate Justice Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., with a net worth of P22,081,205.80 in 2017 which is P4.3-million higher from P17.7 million in 2016. His real properties remain pegged at P1.3 million while his personal property went up to P20.7 million from  P16.3 million in 2016. He declared no liabilities.

Recently retired Chief Justice Justice Teresita Leonardo De Castro’s net worth increased by P2-million to P19,766.075.12 from P17.7-million in 2016. Her real properties remained valued at P11.7-million while her personal properties increased to P20.7 million from P17.6-million in 2016. She has a liability of P9-million.

Associate Justice Noel G. Tijam’s net worth increased by P3.3-million to P19,101,193.23 in 2017 from P15.7 million in 2016. His real properties are valued at P4-million while personal properties are at P15.1-million. His liability is at P5,235.52.

The two new associate justices Alexander Gesmundo and Andres Reyes were 13th and 14th in declared net worth.

Gesmundo has a net worth of P8,245,894.00 with personal properties valued at P8.5-million and a P311,755 liability, while Andres Reyes has P5,699,621.04 with a P1-million worth of real property and P6.6-million worth of personal properties. His liability is at P1.9-million.

The High Court annually releases the SALN of its justices as part of the judiciary’s transparency campaign.

In 2012, the tribunal approved the release of the SALNs of justices after the ouster of former chief justice Renato Corona in May 2012 due to millions of assets not declared on his SALN.

In a resolution in June 2012, the SC stressed that only copies of latest SALNs, PDS and CVs of justices should be released.

Request for previous records should be granted only under justifiable grounds as specified under Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials). /cbb