ONE OUT of four senatorial bets in today’s elections is a woman, the highest rate of female participation yet in the senatorial race in the country’s history. But there is hardly a stir of excitement even among women’s rights advocates, who are apparently expecting little from these women, even if they end up winning.

“Ideally, it is expected that when there are more women (participating in politics), there are more voices (for women), and (that) they will be more gender sensitive,” says Mary Joan Guan, executive director of the Center for Women’s Resources. “But based on our observation through the years, gender alone is not a basis. It is not necessary that if the candidate or official is a woman, she’ll be the voice of the women, especially the marginalized sector.”

She also says that while it is a positive development that women are entering the political arena, people should still closely scrutinize the reasons why these individuals chose to run in the first place.

“If we analyze who these women candidates are, they are (usually) from well-known and powerful families or political families, if not wives of politicians,” Guan says.

She adds, “We are still in the traditional politics practice, so our culture dictates that whoever has the money, is in power, or is in alliance with people in office, wins.”

That may be one factor discouraging many other women from considering politics as a career. Other women’s rights advocates meanwhile say that in a patriarchal society like that in the Philippines, politics merely extends the subservient role women play in the family.

More often than not, they point out, Filipino women are prompted to run for public office only because a husband, father, or brother is unable to do so at that moment or can no longer run altogether.

Sometimes, too, female family members are recruited to run for office simply because the clan wants to either widen or consolidate its power and lacks qualified male members that it can put in public positions.

Nancy, Cynthia, Loi

Some observers say that seems to be the case with the senatorial candidacy of Nancy Binay Angeles, who has opted to use her more recognizable maiden name instead of her married name. Binay, eldest daughter of Vice President Jejomar ‘Jojo’ C. Binay — whom she has served as “personal assistant” — even has an ad that features her father prominently. (Nancy’s only brother Jejomar Jr. is the current mayor of Makati City while sister Abigail represents the city at the Lower House.)

Former Las Piñas Representative Cynthia A. Villar, meanwhile, also has an ad introducing her as “Mrs. Villar,” which probably flatters her husband, outgoing Senator Manuel ‘Manny’ B. Villar to no end. Yet it diminishes the fact that she has also been a member of the House of Representatives.

In 2001, too, former First Lady Luisa ‘Loi’ Estrada, appeared to be compelled to run for senator only because her husband, then President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, was ousted from power and then was thrown in detention along with their eldest son, Jose or Jinggoy.

Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada made a bid for a Senate slot after the plunder charges against him were dropped and he was released. He was elected senator in 2004 and became seatmates with his mother at the legislature. But the mother-and-son tandem at the Senate lasted only two years. Loi Estrada retired after finishing her first term, while Jinggoy ran and won another six-year term as senator in 2010.

The situation of having women act as “benchwarmers” for the male members of the family is even starker in local elective positions. The twist is that in all probability, there may even be fewer women at this level were it not for the “familial” push.

Fewer down the line

Commission on Elections (Comelec) data show that while the two Houses of Congress are now seeing women making up at least 20 percent of the candidates, female participation in races for local posts is at 18 percent. Curiously, women candidates are even scarcer at the provincial level, where they make up only 16 percent of those vying to be elected into office.

Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) Program Manager Jenny Lind Elmaco says that while it is natural for politicians — male and female alike — to have personal interests, particularly family or class interests, she says that these should not be the only motive for anyone to run for office.

“(You) should not be running (only) because you are protecting your family or you want to continue your family legacy,” she says. “More importantly, you seek election because you really want to have a sustainable development.”

Such thinking may help explain why Prof. Josefa ‘Gigi’ Francisco of Miriam College and company are not about to push for a gender-based quota system for elective posts to encourage more women to consider politics as a career.

More than quantity or the number of women politicians, they say that what should be emphasize is the quality or the kind of commitment and service that these politicians should offer to the people.

Francisco is the general coordinator of Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), a network of feminist scholars, researchers, and activists working for economic and gender justice. In her view, the unyielding influence of political dynasties has led to “substitutism” by women in politics, which in turn seems to be a mere extension of the their role in the family.

Elmaco, meanwhile, notes that when evaluating the political participation of women, discussions should not be limited to just electoral participation.

“I think it's important to define what political participation is,” she says. “It's important to recognize that political participation is not just electoral politics, it also includes influencing decisions made by the government, especially in the policy system… So for me, political participation should be embraced, expanded and recognized in a way that it is not only electoral. If we see it from that perspective, I would say that women are active in other areas.”

Making a mark

“(W)hen it comes to women making a mark in other areas, for example business, most businesses are owned by women, that's something,” continues Elmaco. “Also, when it comes to engagement, women participate. I think we should, when we talk about political participation, we have to look at how women engage, whether with government or with the private sector, or whether with themselves or the community and see that as politics…and when we talk about that, I think we have a lot of things we can be proud of.”

She says that the PCW, in its effort to get more involvement from women, conducted a program called “Young Women Leaders Initiative”, which encourages young women to get engaged in the government and propel development themselves.

“I think we have to start young,” says Elmaco. “If you break these barriers, if you break these stereotypes, then you instill values and beliefs in democracy, a belief that people can make a change. If you start them young, then we can really make a difference.” — PCIJ, May 2013

IT MIGHT well be because he has had to fill out only two of them, compared to his colleagues who have already collected quite a pile. Whatever the reason, Aquilino Martin ‘Koko’ L. Pimentel III emerged as having the most detailed Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) among the six senators who are running for re-election this Monday. Indeed, almost all of the columns in his forms are filled out — from his assets and liabilities to his business interests and relatives in government.

Details — or the lack thereof — in their SALNs have lately been tripping up politicians and landing them in trouble. Just last year, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona fell from power after the impeachment court found him guilty of failing to declare all of his assets in his SALNs. More recently, Senator Loren Legarda, who is looking for another term in the legislature, has found herself being accused of not disclosing in her SALNs a $700,000 condominium unit in New York. This has led to a graft case being filed against her before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Unlike Pimentel, who assumed his seat in the Senate only in 2011, Legarda has been filing SALNs since 1998, when she first won a six-year term in the Upper House. She made a bid to become vice president in 2004, but lost. She returned to the Senate for another six-year run in 2007.

Loren bares less

Interestingly, though, Legarda’s SALNs since 2007 have contained less detail than the statements she filed from 1998 to 2003 when she was still together with then husband Jose Antonio C. Leviste.

For example, her 2002 SALN presented complete details of her real properties such as the location, year acquired, mode of acquisition, assessed value, fair market value, and acquisition cost. She also included notes on the basis used for the fair market value of her properties.

But from 2007 until 2011, Legarda presented her assets — real, personal, and other property — in just one table with only two major columns: year acquired and acquisition cost. This is a deviation from the original SALN form that requires at least seven key information for a real property.

Legarda did not declare any real property in her June 2007 SALN. Media reports, however, quote Legarda as saying that the controversial New York condominium unit is the property being referred to as “Other Investments” worth P8.98 million in her June 2007 SALN. This entry, though, was under “Personal and Other Property.” The year when it was acquired was also not provided in the SALN she filed.

In her Dec. 2007 SALN that followed the baseline declaration format, she declared an “Equity in Real Property (Co-owned with brothers, etc)” worth P7.2 million that was acquired in 2006. This is said to be the NY condo unit.

Legarda made the same declaration of the property in her Dec. 2008 SALN, which followed the annual declaration format.

In 2009, when the old SALN form was used again, Legarda did not fill out the Real Properties section in the form, although she did include the same “equity in real property co-owned with brothers, etc” worth P7.2 million. The same declaration was made in 2010. Legarda’s net worth of P45,545,565 in 2009 remained as is in 2010.

Finally, in 2011, the same equity in property was reported. Legarda’s net worth increased a bit to P45.68 million in 2011, the latest filing that PCIJ has on file.

Legarda’s net worth has not gone over P46 million from Dec. 2007 to Dec. 2011. Yet she is still the wealthiest among the six senators who are now eyeing a comeback to the Upper House.

Legarda’s net worth actually plunged after she finished her first term in the Senate. From P104.91 million in 2003, the senator’s wealth dropped to P41.44 million in 2007, presumably because of her separation from her husband. Although her net worth has risen since, the increase is only slight compared to the net worth growth enjoyed by four of her fellow senator-candidates.

Gringo’s rising net

Among these four, Senator Gregorio ‘Gringo’ B. Honasan II posted the highest increase in his net worth between 2007 to 2011: from P12 million to P20.8 million, or an increase of 73 percent. This was due largely to new entries in his assets such as two properties in Marikina that he declared to have current fair market values of P2.47 million and P1.77 million, and a P2.8-million personal property tagged as “AFSLAI” or Armed Forces and Police Savings & Loan Association, Inc.

When he first became senator in 1995, Honasan’s declared net worth barely grazed the P1-million mark. But his wealth has increased nearly every year since, according to the SALNs he filed from 1995 to 2002, and then from 2007 to 2011. His last recorded liability was in June 2001. Since December 2001, he has not declared any loan, even as the value of his personal properties have kept rising — from P3.7 million to P8.2 million in June 2007 (when he was re-elected senator) then to P15.5 million in 2010. The figure dipped a little to P14 million in 2011. His real properties, however, grew in value from P3.9 million in 2010 to P6.7 million in 2011.

In his Dec. 1995 SALN, Honasan reported that he is a consultant at Toyota-Alabang Inc. Since then, he did not declare any business interest or financial connection. Since 1998, he has reported an annual salary of P420,000 as senator until 2011, the latest filing that PCIJ has on file.

Sonny and Alan Peter

In comparison, the wealth of Antonio ‘Sonny’ F. Trillanes IV and Alan Peter S. Cayetano shot up by nearly half; Trillanes’s grew from P2.6 million in 2008 to P3.9 million in 2011, and Cayetano, from P16.1 million in 2007 to P23.2 million in 2011.

Cayetano — the second wealthiest among the six senator-candidates — has reported slight increases and decreases in his net worth since 2004. It was only recently that his wealth rose by nearly 50 percent, from P15.9 million in 2010 to P23.2 million in 2011. According to his 2011 SALN, the uptick in his wealth was due largely to “profit (both paper and actual) in stocks listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange.”

Notably, while Cayetano has declared investment in stocks since 1998, he has never gone into specifics. In 2010, he declared P3.3 million in “investment in stocks/club shares” and P2.96 million in “other investments.” These two items rose to P10.5 million and P3.5 million, respectively, in 2011.

Cayetano declared a piece of real property (condominium unit in Batasan Hills) for the first time in his June 2004 SALN. It was also the same year he included his wife’s name in his statement.

Since 2004, Cayetano has listed only the acquisition cost of the property. The assessed value and current fair market value are not filled out. As of 2011, the property is still included in this SALN but it bears the note: “Condominium project not completed/defective.” In 2011, the housing loan that he previously reported bears the note “Loan payments stopped because project was not completed/defective.”

Cayetano, however, is among the three senator-candidates who filled up the business interests and financial connections columns. The remaining three left these blank. Cayetano declared interests in various holding companies.

Meantime, Trillanes’s net worth recorded a gain of P1.3 million — from P2.6 million in 2007 to P3.9 million in 2011. Since 2009, he has been acquiring new properties (a lot, a condo unit, and two cars) through PAG-IBIG and bank loans. Yet while the value of his assets has risen (from P2.6 million in 2007 to P10.7 million in 2011), this is set off by his liabilities (from zero in 2007 to P6.8 million in 2011).

A reverse search conducted by PCIJ at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also revealed an Antonio F. Trillanes IV listed in at least three non-stock corporations. This Trillanes is connected to the Magdalo Para sa Pagbabago Movement, Inc. according to its 2010 and 2012 general information sheets (GIS), and the Samahang Magdalo Inc. and the Basketball Association of the Philippines, Inc. in their respective 2011 GIS.

The documents bear the same tax identification number that Senator Trillanes provided in his SALNs. These three entities, however, were not declared in the senator’s 2010 and 2011 SALNs.

Chiz: Loans, uptick

As for Francis Joseph ‘Chiz’ Escudero, records show that the senator-candidate has declared moderate gains in his wealth every year since 2000. As of 2011, his net worth stood at P9.9 million, which is about 33 percent more of his wealth when he first entered the Senate in 2007 (P7.4 million). This is primarily because of the decrease in his liabilities from P10 million in 2010 to just P1.5 million in 2011.

Escudero has put down loans in his SALNs since 1998. From P2.5 million in 1998, his debts jumped to P7.4 million in 2002, P6 million in 2008 (when he acquired a second property in Quezon City), then to P10 million in 2010 (when he listed shares of stock worth P5 million).

In 2011, his loans dropped to P1.5 million. But his personal properties dropped in value as well that year, from P11.4 million in 2010 to P4.8 million, as did that of his jewelry. The P5-million shares of stock are also no longer in his 2011 SALN. Known to be a car enthusiast, Escudero though bought three cars in 2011: a 1995 Range Rover Classic, a “1969 BMW 2002”, and a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser, all worth a total of P1.98 million.

Escudero declared business interests in a law firm in his SALNs. SEC documents, meanwhile, show a Francis Joseph G. Escudero listed as trustee and member of The Fernando Poe Jr. Foundation, Inc. The senator did not declare this foundation in his 2010 SALN.

Koko’s wealth dips

Then there is Pimentel, whose net worth stood at P17.67 million in August 2011, which decreased to P17.08 million as of Dec. 2011. In other words, in his brief time at the Senate, Pimentel saw his net worth drop by a little over three percent.

Among other things, Pimentel declared interests in his former wife’s businesses, La Joya Travel Services and Goddess and Jewels, described as offering “nail and boutique services.”

SALNs aside, it would be interesting to see how much these six candidates spent in the 2013 election campaign. Six years ago, Legarda and Escudero — the top two candidates who got the most number of votes in the 2007 elections — also incurred the highest in campaign expenditures.

Legarda received P86.5 million in contributions and spent P86.2 million, leaving excess donations of P307,331. Escudero received P64.8 million in donations and incurred 64.9 in expenditures, which means that he paid P195,668 out of his personal funds.

Legarda and Escudero, along with Cayetano and Honasan, have participated in at least three elections. Pimentel and Trillanes ran for public office for the first time in May 2007.

Pork spending

Another “money behavior” worth looking at is how these six senators spent their pork barrel. Of the six, Legarda, Honasan, and Escudero got the highest Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) releases with P576.8 million, P554 million, and P542 million, respectively, from June 2010 to March 2013.

According to the Department of Budget and Management, a total of P468 million was released to Trillanes, and P430.5 million to Cayetano as of March 2013. Pimentel, meanwhile, received the least amount at P267.3 million in 19 months.

Each of the senators turned out to have his or her own pet projects. From June 2010 to June 2012, both Trillanes and Pimentel assigned the bulk of their PDAF to financial assistance to indigent patients (P112.7 million and P29.8 million, respectively).

Honasan’s went to road repairs (P153.5 million), Cayetano to the construction of multi-purpose buildings (P65 million), Legarda to the construction of classrooms (P143.7 million), and Escudero to the construction of public markets (P289 million). — PCIJ, May 2013

BAYAN MUNA party-list representative Teodoro ‘Teddy’ Casiño ranks 283 out of 284 members of the Lower House in terms of declared net worth. That may be why among the five current district representatives who are running for a Senate seat in the upcoming elections, Casiño — or to be more exact, the organization he had been representing in Congress — received the most contributions during the 2010 polls.

Bayan Muna also spent the highest amount in 2010 national and local elections when compared to the four other members of the House who now want to be senators. One, party-list groups are elected by all voters, and thus, they campaign on a national level. Two, these four are not only wealthy, based on their own declarations of net worth, but also have surnames that already have considerable political cache, some of which are decades-old.

Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo ‘Sonny’ M. Angara, Cagayan Representative Juan ‘Jack’ C. Ponce Enrile Jr., San Juan City Representative Joseph Victor ‘JV’ G. Ejercito, and Zambales Representative Ma. Milagros ‘Mitos’ M. Magsaysay all belong to political families. Angara is the son of Senator Edgardo ‘Ed’ J. Angara, Ponce Enrile is the only son and namesake of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Ejercito is a son of deposed President Joseph Estrada, while Magsaysay is the daughter-in-law of Zambales Governor Vicente Pulido Magsaysay. These four lawmakers also have at least three relatives each running for public office in May 2013 elections.

Unlike Casiño, who had a declared net worth of only P91,000 in 2011, Angara, Ponce Enrile, Ejercito, and Magsaysay are multimillionaires. In fact, they were among the top 50 richest members of the House in 2011, based on a summary list from the House Records Office, which provides the totals of real assets, personal assets, liabilities, and net worth of the legislators.

Aside from easier name recall, this could help explain how Angara, Ejercito, and Magsaysay were able to win Congress seats in 2010 without receiving any contribution, according to documents they submitted to the Commission and Elections (Comelec). They also spent well under P1 million at the time, with Magsaysay listing a total of P650,00 as her election expenditures in 2010, Ejercito P438,512, and Angara a measly P210, 500. Enrile, meanwhile, spent P541,462, with P109,468 worth of contributions.

In contrast, Bayan Muna spent more than P1.2 million to snag a House seat, with contributions amounting to P1.26 million. Of that pool of donations, P1 million came from a single individual, Jose Enrique Africa, executive director of the think tank IBON. (Casiño’s father, lawyer Amador Casiño, donated P500,000 and P200,000 to Bayan Muna during the 2007 and 2004 elections, but he is not listed as among the organization’s donors in the 2010 polls.)

Landed, affluent

Based on available data, Casiño, like his four House colleagues now gunning for the Senate, was already landed by the time he first assumed public office. But unlike the four, Casiño would remain to have only one real estate property — a 2.5-hectare agricultural land in Infanta, Quezon — from 2004 to 2010.

Then again, the SALNs that PCIJ has on file for Casiño and his colleagues are incomplete. The latest it has on Casiño is his 2010 SALN; for Angara, Ejercito, and Magsaysay, 2009; and for Ponce Enrile, 2004. The Center’s request for copies of the 2011 SALNs of all congressmen remains pending at the House.

Nevertheless, the documents on hand show that apart from Casiño, all the House members who have now joined the Senate race have real properties that located in their own bailiwicks or provinces that are popular vacation destinations, or wealthy cities in Metro Manila. Two even owned property abroad.

Angara owned the most number of real properties. In his July 2004 SALN, Angara declared having two land parcels and another two with buildings, one condominium, and one and half of a townhouse that were acquired between 1995 and 2003. He declared three new entries in his 2007 SALN, namely, two land parcels in Aurora and one condominium purchased in 2007 and 1999, respectively. The condominium, though, was not declared in his 2004 and 2005 SALNs.

As of 2009, Angara declared a total of eight and half real properties located in Aurora, Batangas, Baguio City, Makati, Manila, and Pasig City.

Condos, cribs abroad

Magsaysay owned the most number of condominiums by far. In 2008, she purchased six condominiums that cost P24.1 million in total. One is located in Makati City, two in Pasig City, and three in Taguig City. The year after, in 2009, she purchased two other condominiums located in Pasig City and Batangas that cost P6.6 million in total.

Aside from the condominiums, Magsaysay had declared since 2004 her acquisition of a townhouse in Xavierville in 1997 and a house and lot in Katipunan Avenue in 2000. She also inherited a lot in Davao City and townhouses in Philam Homes in 2004.

Enrile and Ejercito, similarly, had owned only three pieces of real estate each as of 2004 and 2009, respectively, including properties located in the United States.

By the time Enrile came to office in June 1998, he had three residential properties: one in Nasugbu, Batangas, one in Aparri, Cagayan, and another in San Francisco, California. He stated in his SALN that the purchase of this California property is “still being determined.” He did not enroll his property in California beginning 1999 in his SALN and acquired a residential property in Urdaneta Village, Makati City in 2000.

For his part, Ejercito declared three residential house and lots in his 2001 SALN. The one in Addition Hills, San Juan City was bought in 1994, while those in Bel-Air, Makati City and Redwood Shores, California were bought in 2000. He did not enroll his property in Addition Hills in his 2007 SALN, but declared another residential property in Garfield Street, San Juan City in his 2008 SALN.

Angara and Magsaysay were first elected to office in 2004 and they are presently serving their third and last consecutive term in Congress. In their July 2004 SALNs, Angara declared a net worth of P112.27 million, and Magsaysay, P70.16 million.

The figure shows that Angara was 276 percent wealthier compared with his father Ed Angara, whose net worth was P29.86 million in 2004.

Ponce Enrile has been in Congress since 1998, except from 2007 to 2010 when his wife ran in his stead, while Ejercito was the mayor of San Juan City from 2001 to 2010 before he became its congressman. Ponce Enrile declared a net worth of P93.66 million in his June 1998 SALN and Ejercito P52.65 million in his 2000 SALN.

Teddy a tad richer

And then we have Casiño, who was first elected to Congress in 2004 as Bayan Muna party-list representative and declared a wealth of P307, 900. But the party-list representative turned out to have something in common with at least two of his other colleagues who are eyeing Senate slots: a substantial decrease in net worth since assuming public office (based on their oldest and latest available SALNs).

Casiño’s net worth fell from P307,900 in 2004 to P91,000 in 2011 or by 70.44 percent in seven years. His 2010 SALN is the latest on file with PCIJ in which he declared a net worth of P91,000. The reason for the decrease is both a matter of disparity in computation and additional liability.

In his July 2004 SALN, Casiño used the current fair market value (P250,000) of the agricultural land parcel in Quezon to compute his total real properties. In his 2010 SALN, however, he used the acquisition cost (P125,000) instead. He also declared a new entry under “liabilities”: some “personal loans” valued at P110,000. This could explain why his net worth fell despite additional entries in personal assets, among them a P56,000 motorcycle in 2008, a P12,000 air-conditioner in 2006, and an P8,000 refrigerator in 2008.

The party-list representative also declared financial interests in a “fish pond operation” in Aklan under “Salvador Acevedo and heirs.”

Like Casiño, Ponce Enrile saw his net worth decrease as well, from P93.66 million in 1998 to P76.73 million in 2011 or by 18 percent in 13 years. Verification is limited, however, because Ponce Enrile’s 2004 SALN is the latest on file with PCIJ, in which he declared a net worth of P93.77 million. He reported slight increases and decreases in his net worth until 2004.

Ponce Enrile declared his interests in seven companies, among them the family-owned JAKA Investments Corporation, where he was once president and chief executive officer, and JAKA Power Corporation.

Sonny rises, falls

Angara’s net worth also dropped, but by a smaller percentage. From P112.27 million in 2004, his 2011 net worth was at P98.93 million in 2011, or a decline of 11.88 percent over the last seven years. His 2009 SALN is the latest on file with PCIJ in which he declared a net worth of P93.11 million. Available documents also show that Angara and his wife Elvira were majority stockholders in seven companies; one acquired in 1985 and 1994, three in 2003, and two in 2008.

The decrease in 2009, however, was due largely to his distinct method of computation. Among the five congressmen, only Angara practiced deducting a certain amount of “accumulated depreciation” in the total acquisition cost of his real and personal assets every year. He also deducted a certain amount of contingent losses as part of his liabilities in his 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009 SALNs.

Excluding the indicated deductions, Angara’s wealth essentially increased over the years. He had more real properties in 2009 than in 2004. The amount of his cash, vehicles and boats, and “furniture/paintings/books/movables/appliances” were substantially bigger in 2009 than in 2004.

Bought a lot as a student

Interestingly, the data suggest that Angara acquired many of these assets while he was a law student at UP (1995-2000) and then during his very short stint (2000-20002) as associate attorney in the litigation department of his father’s famed law firm Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz (ACCRA), and finally as a student at Harvard University (2002-2003).

Indeed, the data also show that many of these properties were acquired in 1999: three vehicles, two boats, two condominiums, and one and half of a townhouse that cost P7.113 million in total. He spent the largest amount in 2003, also the year of his marriage to Elvira, when he bought a P34.6 million “land/building” (with cost of improvements) in Makati City. In news reports, he said his properties in 2004 already include those of his wife.

Ejercito and Magsaysay, by comparison, both reported a net worth growth in 2011. Their 2009 SALNs are the latest on file with PCIJ.

Ejercito’s net worth rose from P52.65 million in 2000 to P69.1 million in 2011 or by 31.26 percent over the last 11 years. His net worth grew to P63.96 million in 2009 largely because of a new entry, a P34.5-million residential house and lot in San Juan City that was acquired in 2008.

Among the five House members campaigning for a Senate seat, Ejercito enrolled the most number of and provided the most detailed information on his business interests. He had financial interests in 20 businesses, which were acquired between 1993 and 2000. He enrolled the same names of companies from his 2000 SALN to his 2009 SALN.

A reverse search on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) corporate records database showed that Ejercito was listed as incorporator and trustee in the 2011 Articles of Incorporation of M Power Club, Inc. This company was registered in SEC on November 3, 2011. Verification was limited, however, because PCIJ has no file of Ejercito’s 2011 SALN.

Hubby into business

In the meantime, Magsaysay’s net worth rose from P70.16 million in 2004 to P76.33 million in 2011 or by 8.8 percent in seven years. Her net worth in 2009, however, posted a decrease by P340,000 from the 2004 figure. A record of P41.3 million in personal, bank, car, and institutional loans caused the decrease despite a combined increase of P40.96 million in her real and personal asset.

In 2009, Magsaysay declared two businesses owned by husband Jesus Vicente Magsaysay. Mag Integarated Wood was located in Misamis Oriental, while JOSSMAG Timbor PNG was in Papua New Guinea.

Magsaysay’s personal net worth was a contrast to the pork she received in 2010: P35,000. She did not receive any pork allocations from 2011 to 2013. Magsaysay is a known political ally of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is the current administration’s political rival.

Ejercito was allocated with the largest amount of pork among the five House members: P207 million from June 2010 to March 2013. Enrile was allocated with P190 million; Casiño with P178.95 million. Angara received the least amount of pork funds with P139 million.

Of the five House members, Angara was allocated the largest amount of pork: P209 million from June 2010 to March 2013. Ejercito came in next at P207 million; Enrile was given P190 million, while Casiño, the smallest amount of P175.93 million. — PCIJ, May 2013

THEY HAD been out of Congress for the last three years or more, but the nine former legislators who are among the 33 senatorial candidates in the upcoming elections were most probably far from turning into paupers because of any lack of work.

Former Las Piñas City Rep. Cynthia Villar, for instance, could still count on her family’s collection of real-estate businesses. Former Senator Richard Gordon, who is best known for his work with the Red Cross, owns shares of stock in some of the country’s largest corporations, among them San Miguel Corp., Jollibee Foods Corp., Meralco, Filinvest, Philex Mining Corp., Lepanto Consolidated, and Petron Corp. Former Senator Ma. Ana Consuelo ‘Jamby’ A.S. Madrigal is a shipping heiress who also has interests in a holding firm, an insurance company, and a real estate lessor.

Even former party-list representative Ana Theresia ‘Risa’ Hontiveros-Baraquel is a partner in Planet Dive, a resort in Mabini, Batangas, according to her 2009 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) while another ex-party list representative, Hans Christian Señeres, is a certified financial planner.

When they first assumed seats in Congress, both Hontiveros-Baraquel (Akbayan) and Señeres (Buhay Hayaang Yumabong or Buhay) could also be considered to be quite comfortable financially, if not well-off. That tempered description is only because they were surrounded by colleagues whose net worth ran in the seven digits upward, based on the latest of their SALNs that PCIJ has on hand. As of 2009, Hontiveros-Baraquel had a net worth of P4.9 million and Señeres P7.4 million. (Both party-list representatives missed being in Congress with comebacking senator Ernesto M. Maceda, who first served as legislator in the early 1970s, and whose most recent turn at the Senate ended in 1997, when he had a recorded wealth of P7.6 million.)

Poorer while in office

Hontiveros-Baraquel and Señeres, however, have something in common with two of the richest of the nine ex-legislators now vying for Senate seats: a drop in their net worth during their years in Congress.

er lawmaker wealthiest among the former lawmakers-turned senatorial candidates., 05 billion. The drop digitIn the case of Cynthia Villar, the decline was nearly P200 million less her 2006 net worth, which reached P1.05 billion. By 2011, based on the SALN her husband Senator Manuel ‘Manny’ B. Villar Jr. filed, her net worth was down to P854.2 million, the decrease due largely to a decline in the value of the couple’s personal properties. Nevertheless, Villar remains the wealthiest among the former lawmakers-turned senatorial candidates.

Similarly, Madrigal’s wealth dipped a little to 145.6 million in 2009, from P146.5 million in 2007, because of an increase in her liabilities.

Former Senator Ramon ‘Jun’ B. Magsaysay Jr.’s net worth, meanwhile, also dropped in 2005, falling to P150.8 million from P153.6 million in the previous year. In general, however, Magsaysay’s net worth rose steadily during his years in the Senate, from 1995 to 2006.

As of his 2006 SALN, the latest available on file of the PCIJ, Magsaysay’s net worth stood at P162.3 million.

Richer out of power

Then there are the likes of former Senator Gordon and former Bukidnon representative Juan Miguel ‘Migs’ F. Zubiri, whose wealth generally rose while they were in the legislature.

From P23.6 million when he was first elected as senator in 2004, Gordon’s net worth stood at about P27 million to P28 million as of his 2009 annual declaration. Three-term congressman Zubiri, for his part, had P11.4 million when he first got elected at the House of Representatives. By the time Zubiri resigned from his Senate seat to give way to rival Aquilino Martin ‘Koko’ L. Pimentel III, his last recorded net worth was at P41.2 million.

PCIJ, however, has been unable to track the net worth of former Abakada Guro Party List Representative Samson S. Alcantara who replaced Jonathan A. de la Cruz as the group’s representative in January 2010. The Center has only Alcantara’s 2009 SALN, in which he declared a net worth of P27.6 million.

Except for Señeres, all these former lawmakers declared business interests and financial connections in the SALNs obtained by PCIJ. But records from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also show that at least four candidates in the group have connections in businesses and foundations that were not declared in their SALNs.

For instance, the 2004, 2005, and 2006 general information sheets (GIS) submitted by LMC Dev. Corp. to the SEC lists a Ramon B. Magsaysay Jr. as its incorporator, board member, and stockholder. The documents list the same tax identification number (TIN) that former Senator Magsaysay declared in his SALNs. But LMC, a real estate company registered in 1981, was not listed in Magsaysay’s 2004, 2005, and 2006 SALNs. In 2006, for instance, he declared only that he is a stockholder of Asia Vision Cable Holdings, Inc., RMJ Development Corp., Colorview CATV, Inc., and Quezon CATV, Inc.

A Cynthia A. Villar, meanwhile, was listed as incorporator and board member of the Sipag at Tiyaga Foundation Phils. Inc., Villar Foundation Inc., and Gourmet Garage Inc. in their respective 2009 GIS. Villar, however, did not declare these entities in her 2009 SALN. The SEC documents list the same TIN that Villar provided in her SALNs.

SEC records also show that a Juan Miguel F. Zubiri is connected to at least three entities: the Congressional Biking Society, Inc. according to its 2002 primary license, Phil. Deer Foundation, Inc. in its 2008 GIS, and The Exodar Inc., in its 2008 articles of incorporation. The SEC papers also bear the same TIN that is listed in Zubiri’s SALNs, but these were not declared in his 2002 and 2008 SALNs.

According to SEC, a Richard J. Gordon is connected to the Victories of the Revolution Foundation Inc. and the Philippine-India Parliamentarians Friendship Association Inc. based on their respective 2006 articles of incorporation. These entities were not listed in Gordon’s 2006 SALN.

Big, deep pockets?

In any case, except for the party-list representatives, these former lawmakers apparently had enough money in their pockets to manage to run campaigns without relying on donations.

For instance, the Statements of Election Contributions and Expenditures (SECE) that Villar and Zubiri had submitted when they ran for a seat in the House of Representatives show that they did not receive a single peso from donors. Both lawmakers had paid for their campaign expenses using their personal funds.

When Zubiri ran for senator in 2007, he was able to raise P67.5 million in donations. Still, he said he paid P21.7 million out of his total expenses of P89.2 million.

In the 2004 polls, Gordon, Maceda, and Madrigal also opened their owned wallets and spent P575,000, P27.9 million, and P4.8 million, respectively, for their campaigns. Madrigal also shouldered P55.2 million of her campaign expenses when she ran for president in 2010.

As for Magsaysay, his 2001 SECE indicates that he received P20.2 million in contributions, more than half of which or P11.7 million came from his personal fund.

PCIJ has no file of Abakada Guro’s 2007 SECE, but its 2010 SECE shows that the party did not receive any donation and spent P47,038 using the party’s own funds.

The SECEs of Hontiveros-Baraquel’s Akbayan and Señeres’s Buhay Party List show excess donations, though. In 2004, Akbayan received P5.04 million and spent P4.9 million, leaving P41,167 of unused funds. Buhay, meanwhile, got extra funds worth P1,203 in the 2007 elections and P346 in the 2004 elections.

Yet for sure, most of these nine senatorial candidates have also been able to depend on political networks during elections, with many of them gaining such connections through blood ties. One stark example is Magsaysay who comes from a well-established political family. He is the namesake of the late president Ramon F. Magsaysay. His uncle, Genaro F. Magsaysay, also served as senator in the 1970s. The late Rep. Antonio M. Diaz of Zambales is his cousin.

The 7 relatives of Jun

In the 2013 elections, Magsaysay has at least seven relatives running in various positions. This includes his niece, Ma. Milagros ‘Mitos’ Magsaysay, who is also vying for a seat in the Senate, and his cousin Eulogio R. Magsaysay who is running as representative of party-list group Alliance of Volunteer Educators (AVE).

Villar’s political roots, meanwhile, can be traced to Las Piñas City, which has had its congressman and mayor from the Aguilar-Villar clan for the last several years. Cynthia Villar is the wife of Senator Manny Villar, who also spent some years in the Lower House, and mother of Rep. Mark A. Villar. Las Piñas Mayor Vergel A. Aguilar is the brother of Cynthia.

Gordon’s political connections are entrenched in Olongapo City. Both his wife and brother have had their turns as city mayor there, as has Gordon himself. At least three of his cousins, a nephew, a sister-in-law, and a daughter-in-law have served in various capacities as elective and appointive officials.

In Bukidnon, Zubiri’s father Jose Ma. Jr. and brother Jose Ma. III are running to get re-elected as the province’s governor and congressman, respectively, in the 2013 elections. His cousin Ignacio is also running for mayor of Malaybalay City.

In the case of Hontiveros-Baraquel, her connections in government spring from party-list Akbayan, which has had members elected or appointed government posts, among them Rep. Walden Bello, National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Joel Rocamora, Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales, and presidential political adviser Ronald Llamas.

Señeres, for his part, is the son of former ambassador Roy Señeres. By being part of Buhay, he is likely to have connections as with such familiar names in business and politics such as William Tieng, Ricky Razon, Eric Tagle, and Joseph Cua, all of whom are listed as donors in documents submitted by the party-list organization to the Commission on Elections (Comelec). — PCIJ, May 2013

HOW RICH are the Binays? Vice President Jejomar ‘Jojo’ Binay never fails to point to his humble beginnings, but for decades now, there has been non-stop whispering that he and his family have come a long, long way from Culi-Culi.

Some clues could probably be gleaned from the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of the Binay family members who have occupied public office (and there are already quite a number). Anyone curious if married eldest daughter Nancy is sharing that supposed wealth, however, may have to wait and see if she gets voted into the Senate next week.

Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay-Angeles is among the 13 (out of 33) senatorial candidates who have yet to sit in the legislature. She is also among the senatorial bets who have not filed a SALN, because while she is her father’s personal assistant and liaison at the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, she is a volunteer, says a media officer at the Office of the Vice President. Therefore, she is not on the government payroll, says the OVP personnel.

Tracking a candidate’s wealth with the use of a SALN is hard enough. Without that piece of paper, however, the task obviously becomes more complicated. Of course, candidates coming in from the private sector — including the likes of Binay, who seems to have already at least a toe in government, and fellow senatorial candidates Eduardo ‘Brother Eddie’ C. Villanueva and Baldomero C. Falcone — are not required to file one.

Old files long gone

But even the SALNs filed once upon a time by those who used to hold a public post may also prove elusive either because either they had a very short stint as public servants or their SALNs are now past the 10-year retention period practiced by SALN repository agencies. Such seems to be the case with senatorial candidates and former public servants Rizalito Y. David, Marwil N. Llasos, Ramon E. Montaño, and Ricardo ‘Dick’ L. Penson.

PCIJ thus resorted to a reverse search of corporate records to see if at least these candidates have some interests in businesses or organizations registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Nothing came up for David and Llasos. David worked at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and at the Offices of Senator Francisco S. Tatad, Deputy Speaker Hernando Perez, and Senator Robert S. Jaworski. Llasos was executive assistant and later legal consultant at the Department of Agrarian Reform, researcher at Institute of International Legal Studies at the University of the Philippines, and assistant corporate legal counsel at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

But a certain ‘Ramon E. Montaño’ turned up as a stockholder, board member, or officer in at least three companies. SEC documents also show that the Montaño listed in these companies has the same address indicated in Montaño’s certificate of candidacy for the 2013 elections.

Monstar Security and Intelligence Services, Inc. listed Montaño as incorporator and chairman of the board; he appears as incorporator, chairman of the board, and president in the papers of Alcomon Consolidated Corp., and board member and stockholder at BF General Insurance Company, Inc. Montaño is a retired general of the Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police.

Independent candidate Penson, who used to be special assistant for national security and political affairs of former president Corazon C. Aquino, meanwhile now sits as chairman and/or major shareholder of various corporations, according to latest records secured from the SEC. This includes companies in the aviation industry such as Pacific-Avia Group and Philco Aero Inc., tollways contractor and operator La Mesa Parkways Corporation and AusPhil Tollways Corp., and armaments manufacturer Defense Research Inc. He is also the chairman of Penson and Company Inc., a holding company, and La Mesa Parkways Corporation, a company that supplies and maintains renewable energy equipment.

Nancy and hubby

Binay and husband Jose Benjamin Angeles are connected in at least three corporations as well, according to SEC records. Binay is director of an insurance agency called AB Summit Insurance Agency Inc., according to its 2007 general information sheet (GIS). She is also incorporator and trustee of Purple Ginger Inc., a restaurant operator formed in 2001 (2001 primary license), and St. Andrews A-C Services Inc., a company involved in the “repair of personal and household goods” that was formed in 2001 (2011 GIS).

At the same time, Binay is involved in a number of charitable organizations such as the Bigay Pagmamahal Foundation Inc. (registered in 1986), Brighthalls Children’s Foundation Inc. (2012), and the STF Serbisyong Tunay Foundation Inc. (2011).

Aside from being her father’s assistant, Binay currently serves as deputy secretary general of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), a coalition between deposed President Joseph Estrada's Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) and Vice President Binay's Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

As for Falcone, who is president of the Democratic Party of the Philippines (DPP), SEC records show him as having business interests in Falcone Fast Courier Inc., a courier service, and Global Interphase Security Service Provider, Inc. a company that provides security services.

Falcone is also incorporator and trustee of Sagip Bansa Filipinas Inc., a non-stock corporation that aims “to create a national blueprint for socio-economic stewardship towards a new Philippines…”

Then there is Villanueva, who ran and lost in the last two presidential races, but is more known as the founder and leader of the Jesus is the Lord Church or JIL. Villanueva is the president of ZOE Broadcasting Network Inc. established in 1991. He also sits as member of the Board of Regents of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines where he graduated with a degree in economics.

Among the would-be neophyte lawmakers, PCIJ has on file some SALNs of incumbent Puerto Princesa City mayor Edward S. Hagedorn and ex-Manila councilor Greco Antonious Beda B. Belgica. It also has on file SALNs of ex-Olongapo City councilor John Carlos G. de los Reyes, former National Youth Commission (NYC) chair Paolo Benigno ‘Bam’ A. Aquino IV, former Tarlac governor and presidential assistant Margarita ‘Tingting’ R. Cojuangco, and former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chair Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares.

But because the SALNs PCIJ has on hand on these candidates are too few or incomplete, the Center is able to produce only a rough sketch of the wealth they may have.

Grace most wealthy

Among the six, Llamanzares posted the highest net worth record of P132.25 million in 2011. The amounts of her real and personal assets were in fair market values instead of acquisition cost. A large part of her wealth or a total of P65 million was inherited from her father, celebrated actor and 2004 presidential candidate Fernando K. Poe Jr., who died in 2004. Nevertheless, Llamanzares alone is well moneyed with real and personal assets of P102.89 million.

Cojuangco came in next with P127.33 million in 2003. Cojuangco is the wife of Jose S. Cojuangco Jr., a business tycoon, sugar magnate, and Tarlac’s first district representative from 1962 to 1969 and from 1987 to 1998.

Hagedorn, Belgica, de los Reyes, and Aquino were all below the P100-million mark. Hagedorn had a net worth of P69.23 in 2011, Belgica P25.95 million in 2007, de los Reyes P10.37 million in 2009, and Aquino P1.33 million in 2006.

There is no other document to compare with the 2003 SALN of Cojuangco to derive a trend in her wealth while she was in public office. As for the others, a comparison of their available SALNs revealed that Aquino’s reported net worth rose, while those of de los Reyes and Hagedorn fluctuated. Llamanzares’s net worth decreased while Belgica’s was steady at P25.95 million or thereabout.

Aquino posted the highest (and year-on-year) net worth growth with 931-percent increase in five consecutive years, or from P129,000 in 2001 to P1.33 million in 2006. This was due largely to rising amount of “cash/savings” and “personal belongings” and the purchase of a P1.38-million office condominium in Ortigas, Pasig City in 2003. Aquino was appointed commissioner of NYC in 2001, and then he became its chair in February 2003.

JC and Edward

Although fluctuating, de los Reyes’s net worth increased nonetheless from P4.53 million in 1995 to P10.37 million in 2009, or a rise of 129 percent. The increase was due to new entries in his 2009 SALN: four vehicles, two house and lots, and two single-proprietary businesses. One business was purchased in 1998 and the other assets between 2006 and 2009. De los Reyes served as councilor of Olongapo City from 1995 to 1998 and from 2004 to 2010.

Hagedorn’s net worth dropped eventually from P73.77 million in 2004 to P69.23 million in 2011, or a 6.15-percent decrease in seven years. The decline transpired despite a new entry, a P41.5-million commercial building in Puerto Princesa City, in his 2011 SALN.

For one, two entries — a certain “cash/accounts and notes receivable” and “vehicle” — earlier enrolled in his 2004 SALN were no longer in 2011. For another, the amount of his “furniture/fixtures/appliances” decreased to P1.75 million in 2011 from P4.29 million in 2004. Hagedorn also declared a total of P54.52 million in liabilities in 2011 compared with only P15-million liabilities 2004.

Llamanzares’s wealth dropped from P152.53 million in 2010 to P132.25 million in 2011, or by 13 percent in one year. The amounts of her real properties were in fair market values, and in 2011, she declared falling fair market values for almost all of her properties.

Belgica’s net worth, meanwhile, remained nearly the same from 2004 to 2007, except in 2005 when it fell by P250,000 due to two new liabilities: car and housing loans. He declared a new P650,000 Pajero that would have explained the car loan but not a single new entry in real assets for the housing loan.

In his two succeeding SALNs, Belgica declared neither the car loan nor the housing loan nor the Pajero, and thus, his net worth in 2006 and 2007 came back to the 2004 figure.

Aquino, Cojuangco, and Hagedorn disclosed their or their spouses’ business interests and financial connections in their latest available SALNs. Belgica, de los Reyes, and Llamanzares disclosed nothing.

At the end of his term as NYC chair in February 2006, Aquino declared having a financial connection with “ABS-CBN/Studio 23” for being its talent since 2001. Cojuangco declared in her 2003 SALN that she and her husband were “officers/stockholders” in Central Azucarera De Tarlac and her husband was either a stockholder or “officer/stockholder” in 20 other companies. Hagedorn declared in his 2011 SALN that he inherited ESH Real Estate Lessor and Developer.

A lot more businesses

A reverse search of corporate records meantime revealed that Aquino, Belgica, Cojuangco, Hagedorn, and Llamanzares have active business interests and financial connections as of 2011 and 2012. It showed, too, that Cojuangco and Hagedorn may have failed to disclose their associations with some businesses. The research yielded no result for de los Reyes.

Aquino was listed as stockholder and incorporator in the 2012 General Information Sheet (GIS) of Microventures Inc. and Rags2riches Inc., which were registered with SEC on January 18, 2007 and January 31, 2008, respectively. He was also listed as an incorporator in the 2012 Articles of Incorporation of Jakenpoy Corporation, which registered with the SEC on January 24, 2012.

The name ‘Greco Antonious Beda B. Belgica’ was listed as incorporator and trustee in the 2011 Articles of Incorporation of Yeshua Talmidin Association Inc. and Yeshua Change Agents Association Inc. Both companies were registered in SEC only in 2011. The Belgica who has shares in these companies has the same tax identification number of senatorial candidate Belgica in his SALNs.

A ‘Marygrace P. Llamanzares’ was listed as board member, stockholder, and vice president/treasurer in the 2012 GIS of JSP Realty & Development Corp. The same name was also listed as incorporator of The Fernando Poe Jr. Foundation, Inc. in its 2010 Articles of Incorporation. Llamanzares disclosed her shares of stocks in these two companies in her 2010 and 2011 SALNs.

A ‘Margarita R. Cojuangco.’ who has the same TIN as Cojuangco based on her SALN, was listed as incorporator in the 2003 and 2012 GIS of Acacia Foundation Inc. and in the 2003 GIS of Ala-ala Scholarship and Livelihood Foundation Inc. The latter filed an Affidavit of Non-Operation in 2005. Cojuangco did not list either foundation in her 2003 SALN.

‘Edward S. Hagedorn’ and ‘Ma. Elena M. Hagedorn,’ who have the same TINs as Mayor Hagedorn and his wife, were listed as incorporator and stockholder in three companies: Radiant Homes Land Development RHLD Inc. and Radiant Forest Homes Development RFHD Inc. in their 2011 GIS and Puerto Prince Bee Foods Corporation in its 2012 Articles of Incorporation. The latter was registered in SEC on January 26, 2012. Hagedorn did not enroll the first two companies in his 2011 SALN.

Of these 13 would-be freshmen lawmakers, five are novice candidates: Aquino, Binay, Falcone, Llamanzares, and Llasos. The rest have run in past local or national elections.

Election spending records

Hagedorn is the most experienced of the lot, having run and won in the mayoral race in Puerto Princesa City since 1992. Cojuangco has run in three gubernatorial races in Tarlac. She won in 1992 and 1995, but lost in 1998. Belgica has run for councilor of the 6^th District of Manila in 2004 and 2007. He won the first and lost the second.

De los Reyes won as councilor of Olongapo City, Zambales in 1995, 2004, and 2007, but lost in his presidential bid in 2010. David lost both his congressional bid in Makati in 2001 and his senatorial bid in 2010. Montaño has run for senator in 2004 and lost.

Villanueva lost his bid for the presidency in the last two national elections. In 2010, Villanueva failed to file a proper Statement of Election Contributions and Expenditures (SECE), specifically one that is separate from the report submitted by his party Bangon Pilipinas.

In a July 2010 letter to Commission on Elections (Comelec), Virginia S. Jose, the party’s legal counsel, said that Bangon Pilipinas’s 2010 SECE “covers all the contributions and expenditures that the candidates (for president, vice president, and senator) have received and incurred for the election period, thereby dispensing the filing of individual reports.”

According to Jose, Comelec advised Bangon Pilipinas to have each of its candidates to submit at least the verified summary page form of the SECE adopting the statement filed by the party along with other documents. Comelec has received such submission from Villanueva.

In 2010, Villanueva’s Bangon Pilipinas Party received P83.4 million and spent P96.01 million in campaign expenditures. — PCIJ, May 2013

Among the six senators who are raring to return to the Upper House, lawyers Alan Peter Cayetano, Chiz Escudero, and Koko Pimentel all belong to political families. Sonny Trillanes and Gringo Honasan are both ex-military men and presumably can count on support from their former colleagues in the armed forces. Trillanes also has strong ties with key campaign donors, as does Loren Legarda, a former broadcast journalist.

Legarda, however, seems to have quite an impressive collection of campaign contributors. She shares the same donors with other officials such as President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, Senator Jose ‘Jinggoy’ E. Estrada, Senator Edgardo J. Angara, and former Senator Luisa P. Ejercito. These donors are Antonio Lopa, who had also contributed to Aquino and the Estradas in past elections, and incumbent National Police Commission (Napolcom) vice chairman and executive officer Eduardo Escueta who had donated to Angara’s campaign in the 2007 elections.

But it is Honasan who stands out as being the only one of the six senator-candidates who has not declared any relatives in government service since he first became senator in 1995. He also ran as an independent but as a guest candidate of various coalitions in previous elections.

In stark contrast, all of Cayetano’s siblings have been or are still active in politics: incumbent Senator Pilar Juliana ‘Pia’ S. Cayetano, former Muntinlupa City councilor Rene Carl ‘Renren’ S. Cayetano, and Taguig Barangay Chairman Lino Edgardo ‘Lino’ S. Cayetano, who is now running for Congress as Taguig Representative. The Cayetanos’ father, the late Renato ‘Compañero’ Cayetano, had also sat at the Senate. Alan Peter’s wife Ma. Laarni is the incumbent mayor of Taguig and is seeking re-election.

Not to be outdone is Escudero. In the 2013 elections, an Escudero is running for congressman, vice governor, board member, mayor, vice mayor, and councilor in Sorsogon. This includes the senator’s mother Evelina, who is running for a seat in the House of Representatives, uncle Antonio for vice governor, and cousin Krunimar for board member.

At least four of Escudero’s family members from his father’s side have been elected in various positions in local government units in Sorsogon. The late Salvador III, Escudero’s father, also served as Sorsogon representative.

Among Escudero’s top donors in 2007 or those who donated at least P1 million include familiar names such as those of businessman Ramon S. Ang and Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. — With research and reporting by Karol Ilagan and Rowena Caronan, PCIJ, May 2013

For instance, Sonny Angara, a Team PNoy’s candidate, has four relatives who are seeking local positions in the May 2013 elections. At present, he has relatives serving as governor, mayor, and councilor of Baler. The Angaras have dominated Aurora since post World War II when Sonny Angara’s grandfather, Juan C. Angara, became mayor of Baler, Aurora in 1945.

Sonny’s father Edgardo, who will have his term at the Senate end this year, is running for governor in Baler. Sonny’s aunt, Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, the current Baler governor, wants to occupy the congressional seat in the lone district of Aurora. His cousin, Karen G. Angara-Ularan, who is now councilor in Baler, is running for its vice mayor. An uncle, Arturo J. Angara, is the current mayor of Baler. Another relative, Rommel Rico T. Angara, is running for vice governor in Baler. (Arturo and Bellaflor are Ed Angara’s siblings.)

Juan ‘Jack’ Ponce Enrile Jr., a candidate of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), is the son of incumbent Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who has a long history in public office and became key figure in significant political events. The elder Enrile was a protégé of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and was a key figure in the 1986 EDSA Revolution. Juan Ponce Enrile’s position as senate president was also important in the impeachment of former Supreme Court chief justice Renato C. Corona in 2012. Jack’s wife Salvacion ‘Sally’ Ponce Enrile, meanwhile, was once representative of the first district of Cagayan from 2007 to 2010.

JV Ejercito, another candidate of UNA, comes from a line of politicians and showbiz personalities. His family’s political influence spans from national to local level and across city and provinces. His brother, Jose ‘Jinggoy’ Estrada, is currently serving his term as a senator until 2016. JV Ejercito has nine relatives who are running for local positions in the 2013 election.

JV is the son of former movie actor and deposed President Joseph ‘Erap’ Ejercito Estrada, who is now running for mayor in Manila. JV’s mother Guia G. Gomez, meanwhile, is seeking re-election as mayor of San Juan City. His cousin, Emilio Ramon ‘E.R.’ P. Ejercito, is also seeking re-election as governor in Laguna. E.R.’s wife, Girlie J. Ejercito, also wants another turn as mayor of Pagsanjan, Laguna. Another cousin, Jannah A. Ejercito, is running for congresswoman in the lone district of San Juan City. Yet another cousin, George Gerald P. Ejercito, is vying for a seat in the provincial board of the fourth district of Laguna. Gary Jayson P. Ejercito, popularly known as Gary Estrada and E.R’s brother, is a re-electionist board member of the second district of Quezon.

J.V.’s nephew, Gherome Eric A. Ejercito, is also seeking for a seat in the provincial board of the first district of Laguna. Lastly, his niece, Jinggoy’s daughter Janella Marie V. Ejercito, is running for councilor in San Juan City.

Meantime, being married to a Magsaysay has made UNA candidate Mitos Magsaysay part of one of the longest-running political dynasties in Philippine history. The Magsaysays have members of the family who held and continue to hold key congressional and local positions.

Mitos’s father-in-law is former Zambales governor Vicente Pulido Magsaysay. Her uncle-in-law, Antonio M. Diaz, was representative of the second district of Zambales in the 15^th Congress until his death in August 2011. Another uncle-in-law, Eulogio ‘Amang’ Rodriguez-Magsaysay, is a party-list representative of AVE (Alliance of Volunteer Educators.).

Mitos has three relatives who will run in the upcoming elections. Her uncle-in-law Ramon ‘Jun’ Magsaysay Jr. is also running for senator under rival party, Team PNoy. Jun is the son of Ramon F. Magsaysay, the seventh president of the country. Mitos’s two sons, Vicente H. Magsaysay II and Jesus Vicente H. Magsaysay III, are respectively running for vice mayor of Olongapo City, Zambales and representative of first district of Zambales.

Mitos is also cousin to Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II, who is as well the president of the Liberal Party. —With reporting and research by Rowena Caronan, PCIJ, May 2013

Recently, a team of PCIJ fellows did a series that revealed how, in 39 Comelec field offices in Luzon and the Visayas, Comelec field personnel suffer from poor working conditions and a shortage in basic resources – personnel, funds, office space, supplies and equipment – that prevent them from fully performing their duties in an effective and efficient manner.

Intending to do a follow-up to that report, six PCIJ interns from April 22 to 29 visited 17 Comelec district offices in five cities in the National Capital Region or NCR: Manila (six district offices), Quezon City (six district offices), Pasay City (two district offices), Makati City (two district offices), and Marikina City (one office covering the city’s two districts). They found that unlike their counterparts in the regions, the Comelec field offices in the NCR do not seem to suffer from a shortage of manpower.

Unfortunately, though, that’s the only difference between the Commission’s field offices in Metro Manila and those in the regions. Indeed, despite their proximity to the head office, most Comelec field offices in the NCR likewise suffer from a shortage of funding and supplies, lack of office space, and poor working conditions. This is rather unexpected for the poll body’s offices located in the country’s most densely populated region, which serves as the government, financial, commercial, and educational center and from where many the top officials of the land are propelled into office.

OLD CRIB. The façade of what used to be a Geriatrics Center is now home to Manila’s Comelec Districts 1 to 6 . PCIJ Photo by Ilych Mana-ay

THE COUNTRY’S capital has a population of 1,652,171 (as of the 2010 Census), making it second only to Quezon City’s 2,761,720. Manila, however, occupies an area of only 24.98 square kilometers, or less than a sixth of Quezon City’s 171.71 square kilometers. That makes Manila the most densely populated city in the country, with more than 66,140 inhabitants per square kilometer in 2010, according to the National Statistics Office.

The cheek-by-jowl situation in the city is mirrored in its six Comelec district offices that will have to cater to the needs of Manila’s 1,020,144 registered voters (as of 2010) residing in the city’s 14 municipalities.

Each Comelec office has to make do with roughly 50 square meters of office space. But the lack of any elbowroom is perhaps most acutely felt by the Manila Comelec 1^st District office. With a voting population of over 208,397, the 1^st District is the most vote-rich district in the city. Its voters all come from Tondo 1, which represents one-half of the municipality of Tondo (District 2 covers Tondo 2).

With such a large number of voters, Manila 1^st District Election Assistant Gadi Rose Sinalubong says her office does not have enough space to accommodate clients, and house its 28 personnel, equipment, and documents. The problem is compounded by District 1’s added responsibility to archive the records of Manila’s five other Comelec district offices.

Geriatrics facility

It probably doesn’t help that the Manila Comelec field offices occupy the second and third floors of an old building that used to be a Geriatrics Center or a hospital for the elderly. In fact, the building was already declared as condemned. According to Jehan Lidasan-Marohombsar, election officer of Comelec Manila’s 6^th District, the building was declared condemned sometime ago.

Despite the many problems of the Manila Comelec offices, however, lack of manpower is not among them, says Sinalubong. In fact, unlike its counterparts in the regions, which are severely undermanned, the Comelec district offices in Manila seem to have the opposite problem: too many personnel who cannot fit inside a minuscule office.

In the 5^th District, Election Officer Narciso Rabe had to cut down the number of staff that the local government provided from 10 to five in order to free up space in the office. District 5 has 24 staff members: nine permanent, 10 casual, and five supplemental personnel provided by the city government. Sinalubong, for her part, allows that with one election officer, eight election assistants, and 19 election casuals, their office tends to get quite crowded, especially during the registration period.

The need for additional personnel actually arises only during the registration period. For instance, Manila Comelec 2^nd District Election Assistant Ernesto D. Verdejo Jr. says that under normal circumstances, his office’s 25 staff members (one election officer, four election assistants, 10 job order casuals, and 10 election casuals provided by the city government) are able to perform the office’s tasks. But come registration period, those numbers prove pitiful. This is despite the fact that District 2 has the smallest voting population among Manila’s six districts at just 122,944 registered voters. Notes Verdejo: “For every election assistant, you will be assigned 30,000 registered voters.”

Piles everywhere

On a typical day, piles of documents and forms are stacked on tables, cabinets, and even the floor of the Comelec field offices in Manila. But during the registration period and issuance of voter’s IDs, the cramped situation is made worse by hundreds of voters flocking to the Comelec offices each day.

CLOUDS & WINDOWS. The afternoon sun bounces on window panes cloaked in dust from a lack of maintenance. PCIJ Photo by Ilych Mana-ay

For other Comelec staff though, the building’s dilapidated state is worse than the limited office space. They think that it’s a threat not only to their health, but also to the offices’ equipment and documents.

The 3^rd and 6^th District offices, for instance, have to put up with leaks during the rainy season. This threatens to destroy the piles and boxes of documents strewn all over the office. “This building is way too old,” Election Assistant Monica Magsalin says.

Lidasan-Marohombsar, pointing to her small office that is in a bad state of disrepair, meanwhile comments, “As you can see, our office is not conducive and convenient as a working place.”

The building has three stories and is located near the LRT Central Station and other government offices such as the Manila City Hall, Office of the City Prosecutor, and Barangay Bureau. But it is barely noticeable because of its old façade.

State of disrepair

But more than the building’s old age, negligence has also caused the Manila Comelec offices to be in a sad state of disrepair. Manila’s city government, which is responsible for the maintenance of the building, has not discussed any plans of renovating the Comelec office anytime soon, says Lidasan-Marohombsar. In fact, Magsalin, who has been with Comelec Manila’s 3^rd district for 20 years, says that she cannot even remember the last time the building was renovated.

Rabe says that as far as he can remember, the building was last repaired almost six years ago.

Lidasan-Marohombsar for her part observes: “In other cities, it is way better. They provide everything. If there is a need for repair, they respond momentarily.”

“It is not the same here in Manila,” she adds.

According to Rabe, they have requested the local government for transfer to a newer building since the Comelec office is already condemned. As of this writing, however, the city government has yet to take up the matter with Comelec. Rabe says, “We could have been transferred during (former Mayor Lito) Atienza’s term but the plan was postponed when his term ended.”

Besides providing the building for their offices, the Manila city government also pays for the Comelec field offices’ electric and water bills. Other than that, the city government provides little else to the Comelec field offices, which often find support from the Comelec head office lacking as well.

According to 4^th District Election Officer Maria Liza Carpina-Torres, the Comelec head office is supposed to pay for her office’s telephone bills, as well as provide a mobilization fund during the election period, and a quarterly budget of P6,000.

The mobilization fund from the Comelec head office is supposed to cover the transportation costs of each district for traveling to all the barangays in its constituency during the election period. Yet with only a few weeks left before the May 13, 2013 polls, Rabe says his office is still waiting for its mobilization fund. He says that the Comelec 5^th District has thus been relying on the contributions of its staff members since the start of the election period, just so the regular visits and distribution of information materials to barangays can be done.

Budget delays

It certainly hasn’t helped that the head office often does not release the quarterly budget, which is supposed to be used for purchasing office supplies of the district offices. “This year we haven’t received any budget yet,” says Carpina-Torres, adding that the main office last released the P6,000 quarterly budget to her office in June 2012. The process of liquidating the funds could have contributed to the delay in fund releases. “If you don’t liquidate,” she explains, “they don’t release the budget.”

This often leads to a shortage in office supplies. For instance, Sinalubong says that the supplies provided by the Comelec head office are not sufficient for their archiving, registration, and day-to-day office work. Sinalubong says that the field staff sometimes “pays for the extra supplies because we think it is also for the good of our fellow Filipinos.”

The 2^nd District field office shares the problem. Election Assistant Verdejo Jr. says the national office sends them supplies “monthly, sometimes quarterly depending on the budget.” But there are times, he says, when their supplies run short. In such instances, Verdejo says he and his colleagues spend their own money to purchase office supplies.

Despite the shortage in supplies, the Comelec offices in Manila’s first and second districts can still count themselves lucky; at least they receive provisions from the Comelec head office. Other districts have not received anything at all from the Comelec head office — whether in cash or in the form of office supplies — for the past few months.

The 5^th District’s Rabe says that he and his staff have taken to spending their own money to purchase their office supplies because the main office told them “there are no stocks available.” Rabe says that his office is entitled to receive supplies from the Comelec head office quarterly.

At the 6^th District office, Election Officer Lidasan-Marohombsar says that since she assumed her post there in October 2012, she has not received a single centavo of the P3,000 quarterly budget for office supplies that her office is supposed to get. “We have been spending our own money to buy supplies needed in the office,” she says. But she also quickly clarifies, “We don’t spend too much all the time since we can get some supplies from the main office.”

Using own money

Still, this quasi-solution of the field office staff spending their own money to make up for the shortage in budget for supplies seems to be gaining ground in other Comelec district offices in Manila.

In the 3^rd District, Election Assistant Monica Magsalin says that most of the supplies such as bond papers, envelopes, and paper clips are bought with the staff’s own money.

Over at District 4, the Comelec field office has even devised an alternative to address the shortage. “We use the proceeds from our small photocopying business in order to make up for the shortage of supplies,” says Carpina-Torres. But even with their own business, she says, the District 4 staff sometimes still find themselves dipping into their personal funds to pay for office supplies.

The many woes of the Comelec’s six field offices in Manila have prompted Lidasan-Marohombsar to note that they are “so deprived” compared to other cities in Metro Manila. “Other cities have transportation and even gas allowances,” she says. “Manila does not have these services.” She says that the field officers have to use their personal vehicles just to be able to move around their districts.

Rabe and Carpina-Torres meanwhile recall that the Comelec field staff used to receive a P2,500 monthly allowance from the city government. But that stopped when Mayor Alfredo Lim took office. Even though Carpina-Torres says that they “can actually request” such an allowance, they “don’t request anymore…since it was cut.”

“We don’t request from the LGUs,” she says. “If you request something from them, they might ask something in return.”

For Rabe, this is just as well so that the Comelec field personnel can avoid any bias toward the incumbent officials. “Wala kaming utang na loob sa kanila, wala rin silang utang na loob sa amin (We don’t owe them anything, and they don’t owe us anything either),” he says.

With the inadequate support from both the Comelec head office and the city government, the Comelec field personnel in Manila have come to rely on each other, as well as on their own creativity, to get things done. Quips Rabe, “Diskarte na lang namin ’yan (We count on our own quick thinking).” — PCIJ, May 2013

NAILING A DEADLINE. Carpenters rush renovation work on Quezon City’s Comelec Districts 1, 3, 5, and 6 in time for election day on May 13, 2013. PCIJ Photo by Maya Angelique Jajalla

IT’S A good thing that the Quezon City government seems to be responsive to the needs of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the field. After all, a majority of the Comelec district offices in Quezon City seem to be suffering from inadequate funding and supplies from the Commission's head office in Intramuros.

The poll body has six district offices in Quezon City, which has the highest population among the 16 cities and one municipality in the National Capital Region. In fact, nearly a quarter of the NCR’s population resides in Quezon City. Less than half (1,083,912 per 2013 Comelec data) of Quezon City's 2,761,720 residents (per the 2010 Census), however, are registered voters.

There used to be only four Comelec district offices in Quezon City. But because of District 2’s huge population, President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III last July signed a new law that divided the district into three. The law, Republic Act No. 10170, will be in effect in the upcoming May 13, 2013 mid-term elections.

The two new districts carved out of District 2 are now known as Districts 5 and 6. Like the four other districts in Quezon City, Districts 5 and 6 will each have to elect a district representative for Congress and six city councilors. Altogether, Quezon City's six districts will have 143 candidates running for congressional, mayoral, vice mayoral, and city council positions in the 2013 polls.

Because of the sheer size of its voting population and the number of candidates vying for various elective posts, Election Officer Enrique Santos of Comelec Quezon City District 3 says that the budget from the head office is usually insufficient and “always late.” At times thus, he finds himself reaching into his own pocket to pay for office supplies. But while Santos concedes that he can have the expenses reimbursed by the Comelec head office, he says he sometimes does not even bother because the reimbursement process takes too long.

Office space okay

The Quezon City government seems to make up for the shortcomings of the Comelec head office, though. At the very least, office space is not an issue with the Comelec district offices all between 100 square meters and 300 square meters in size.

Comelec officers also say that the city government provides them with a lot of what they need, such as office supplies, furniture, and equipment. For instance, each of the six Comelec district offices has a television set and air-conditioning units. The city government also provides them much-needed services to make their work easier, such as office renovation and transportation. In fact, during the interviews for this story, the offices of Quezon City Comelec’s Districts 5 and 6 were being renovated and furnished.

All six Comelec offices in Quezon City are located inside the City Hall compound, behind the Hall of Justice. The offices of Districts 1 and 3 stand across Districts 5 and 6. The offices of Districts 2 and 4, meanwhile, are housed in another building, just a stone’s throw away from those of the four other districts.

MEMORIES? A pile of wood on one side, and a pile of illegal campaign posters on the other. Outside, Quezon City’s Comelec District 1 office hosts tons of evidence of violations of campaign propaganda rules. PCJJ Photo by Maya Angelique Jajalla

District 2 Election Officer Shiela Rojas-Rafanan even says that the support provided by the city government to the local Comelec is "above average." She says, however, that she asks the city government for office supplies only when these are "badly needed." District 1 Election Officer Jovencio Balanguit, meanwhile, says that aside from office supplies, the Quezon City government also gives them an "allowance."

The LGU has proven generous as well when it comes to providing workspace for the Comelec field offices. By Quezon City standards, the District 1 office is already among the smallest at 100 square meters. It houses quite comfortably the office's 21 staff members — six of them permanent, 10 election casuals hired for the election period, and five supplementary personnel from the local government unit (LGU) — who will serve 186,535 voters from District 1's 37 barangays.

Staff concerns

District 1’s Balanguit seems to have no complaints about the size of his workforce. Not so Rojas-Rafanan of District 2. Being the largest district in Quezon City with 234,540 voters coming from only five barangays, Rojas-Rafanan says her 38-member team is still undermanned to address all the needs of the constituents, especially during election season. It’s cold comfort for her that District 2's four permanent staff, 22 election casuals, and 12 supplementary personnel occupy a 300-square meter office, one of the biggest among the six Comelec district offices in Quezon City.

"It's really hard for us," she says. "Everyone is multi-tasking.” Four of those barangays (Commonwealth, Batasan Hills, Payatas, and Holy Spirit) are on the National Statistics Office's seven most populous barangays in the NCR.

District 6 Acting Election Officer Enriqueta Danieles shares Rojas-Rafanan’s staff concerns. “As a new district here in Quezon City," she says, "everyone in the office must multi-task to finish our work.” Occupying an office space of some 150 square meters, District 6 has nine election assistants, six election casuals, and staff from the LGU undergoing on-the-job training. They must see to the needs of the district's 158,864 voters spread across 11 barangays.

The rest of the Comelec officers say that their manpower is adequate. They say they usually need additional personnel only during election season.

District 5 election staff Jerome Tipon also seems to be satisfied with the support that his office gets from the Comelec head office — unlike the Comelec personnel in the city’s other districts. Tipon says the head office, just like the LGU, never fails to provide for his office's needs such as office supplies, furniture, and transportation whenever these are requested. This is despite the fact that District 5, whose 17 personnel will be administering 192,921 voters across 14 barangays, is a new district, Tipon adds.

His observation is shared by District 4 Election Assistant Rene Simeon, who says that the Comelec head office, just like the LGU, is "very supportive" of them. Like District 2, District 4 occupies one of the largest office spaces among the six districts. Its 300-square-meter office houses 15 staff members, five of them permanent personnel and 10 casual. They must see to the needs of 180,979 across 38 barangays.

With only 130,263 registered voters spread out across 37 barangays, District 3 is the smallest district in Quezon City. Despite this, District 3 still counts 20 staff members, five of them election assistants, 11 election casuals, and four supplementary personnel from the LGU. They are housed in the District's 150-square-meter office. — PCIJ, May 2013