Pacman still the richest congressman, with net worth breaching P1B

Manny Pacquiao in last month's Manila Peninsula press conference where he assailed the BIR's alleged mistreatment of him as a taxpayer. BERNARD TESTA, INTERAKSYON.COM

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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines – World boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, who is also the congressman of Saranggani province, has kept the title of richest member of the House of Representatives, reporting over a billion pesos in net worth.

Lawyer Ricardo Bering, director of the Records Management Service, disclosed the information but did not give details of the congressman’s Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), saying he could not yet release them because such would need the prior consent of the congressman.

The Office of the Secretary General is open until 7 p.m. Monday to receive the SALN of the 284 members of the House.

April 30 is the last day of filing of SALN. Bering said they are expecting all congressmen to file their SALN.

Bayan Muna party-list Representative Neri Colmenares personally filed his 2011 SALN at around 1:30 p.m. and declared a net worth of P697,701.

In his 2010 SALN, Pacquiao emerged as the richest House member with P1.13 billion net worth.  Bering said the boxer’s net worth for 2011 increased by a few millions.

The 2010 SALN of House members also showed new multi-millionaires in the chamber, among them Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ilocos Norte Representative Imelda Marcos, Negros Occidental Representative Alfredo Benitez, and television host and Leyte Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez.  

A few weeks ago, Pacquiao got entangled in a word war with BIR chief Kim Jacinto-Henares after Pacquiao assailed the BIR regional office's move to publicize his alleged failure to file a correct report on his income derived from overseas fights. Pacquiao said the United States internal revenue service showed him more respect and that the BIR painted him as a tax evader. 

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