President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly said that Senator Christopher Go is a billionaire, but the former presidential aide has been listed as No. 23 or the second poorest senator in the upper chamber.
Duterte referred to Go as a billionaire during the campaign period in the May elections.
“Bilyonaryo ‘to. Punta kayo sa Davao. Tanungin nyo,” he said.
But Go was one of the top campaign spenders among the winning bets based on the statement of contributions and expenditures that he submitted to the Commission on Elections last June. He spent P161,418,299 for his campaign.
Go’s declared net worth was P7.8-million higher than that of opposition Senator Leila de Lima, who was declared as the “poorest senator” with P7,706,392.45, or No. 24 as of Dec. 31, 2018.
As of June 30, 2019, Go’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth was pegged at P15,508,370.
Go is also the “poorest” among the four neophyte senators composed of Francis Tolentino, Imee Marcos and Ronald dela Rosa.
Tolentino’s net worth was listed at P62,482,000, Marcos’ at P29,970,467 and Dela Rosa at P28,258,908.
Senator Cynthia Villar remained the senator with a net worth of P3,534,412,797 as of June 30, 2019. This was a drop of about P185.52 million as compared to her net worth of over P3.7 billion last year.
World boxing champion Senator Manny Pacquiao was still the second richest senator with a declared net worth of P3,005,808,000.
He was followed by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto with a net worth of P555,324,479.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. came next with a declared net worth of P182,851,570 and P164,203,379, respectively.
The complete ranking of the senators based on their declared net worth:
1. Senator Cynthia Villar: P3,534,412,797 (as of June 30, 2019)
2. Senator Manny Pacquiao: P3,005,808,000 (as of December 31, 2018)
3. Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto: P555,324,479.82 (as of December 31, 2018)
4. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri: P182,851,570.34 (as of December 31, 2019)
5. Senator Ramon Revilla Jr.: P164,203,379.38 (as of June 30, 2019)
6. Senator Juan Edgardo Angara: P139,026,597 (a of June 30, 2019)
7. Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon: P97,726,758 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
8. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian: P96,210,607.14 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
9. Senator Grace Poe: P95,693,450.37 (as of June 30, 2019)
10. Senator Pia Cayetano: P82,308,227.36 (as of July 1, 2019)
11. Senator Richard Gordon: P71,285,178.56 (as of December 31, 2018)
12. Senator Vicente Sotto III: P70,120,700.30 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
13. Senator Lito Lapid: P69,910,000 (as of June 30, 2019)
14. Senator Francis Tolentino: P62,482,000 (as of June 30, 2019)
15. Senator Nancy Binay: P59,911,019 (as of June 30, 2019)
16. Senator Panfilo Lacson: P42,442,341 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
17. Senator Imee Marcos: P29,970,467 (as of June 30, 2019)
18. Senator Aquilino Pimentel III: P29,934,635 (as of June 30, 2019)
19. Senator Ronald dela Rosa: P28,258,908 (as of June 30, 2019)
20. Senator Joel Villanueva: P26,921,555 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
21. Senator Francis Pangilinan: P16,695,048.17 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
22. Senator Risa Hontiveros: P15,627,176.04 (as of Dec. 31, 2018)
23. Senator Christopher Go: P15,508,370.82 (as of June 30, 2019)