Conclusion
The December 2000 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) Villar filed six months before election day listed his net worth at P330.01 million.
If he did spend P38 million of his own money for his election campaign, this did not reflect much in June 2001, when he reported a net-worth slide by only P4 million to P326.85 million. Six months later, in December 2001, his net worth rose by 21 percent to P405.52 million.
In December 2006, Villar reported a net worth of P915.65 million. Even after spending P62 million of his own money for his reelection bid in June 2007, Villar declared a net worth of P921.39 million; six months later, this surged further to P1.04 billion.
To be sure, Aquino’s net worth in 2007 also showed an increase. By comparison, however, this was a slight P652,845. From its June 2007 level of P13.28 million, his net worth rose to P13.94 million in December 2007.
Yet this is even as Aquino told the Comelec that for his Senate campaign that year, he spent P1.57 million of his personal funds, and received P66.56 million in “contributions from other sources” that included P20 million from movie star sister, Kristina “Kris” Bernadette, P10 million from the late President Corazon Aquino, and smaller amounts from other sisters and relatives.
In 2004,when he ran for his third and last term as Tarlac congressman, Aquino’s net worth also increased slightly from P12.63 million in June, to P13.46 million in December.
Loren and Mar
Villar’s running mate, Sen. Lorna Regina “Loren” Legarda has filed election spending reports (2004 as candidate for vice president, and 2007 as candidate for senator) that are as distinct for their lack of details on how she spent donations she had received.
For instance, in 2004 as candidate for vice president of action king, the late Fernando Poe Jr., Legarda said she spent P64.88 million and received donations worth P65 million. The funds went mostly to media expenses, P52.7 million, and campaign materials, P10.4 million.
In 2007, as candidate for senator under the Nationalist People’s Coalition party, Legarda said she spent P86.19 million, raised the same absolute amount of donations, and used the money mostly for media expenses, P76.46 million, and campaign materials, P6.09 million.
While Legarda submitted affidavits of her donors attesting to the amounts they each gave her relative and treasurer, Edgardo Legarda, she did not submit her schedule of expenses in both election years.
Congressman-donors
One interesting point: In 2004, Legarda said she received from Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga P5 million in cash donation, in apparent breach of the law’s ban on government officials, employees, teachers and uniformed personnel donating to candidates.
In 2007, Sen. Panfilo Lacson received P200,000 in cash donation from then Rep. Rolex Suplico of Iloilo. In 2004, de Castro said he paid Rep. Exequiel Javier of Antique P100,000 in “honorarium” for reasons not disclosed.
Legarda and her closest rival for the vice presidency, Roxas, are like peas plucked from the same pod. Like her, Roxas was scant about details of his election expenses.
In his run for the House of Representatives for his home province of Capiz in 1998 and 2001, Roxas declared spending only P236,830 and P330,645, respectively. But when he splurged on his “Mr. Palengke” ads to get to the Senate in 2004, Roxas’s election expense bill shot up to P94.73 million.
This amount, he told the Comelec, included P52 million given by various donors led by his mother, Judy Roxas Araneta, who forked out P30 million. Other Araneta and Roxas kin chipped in as well.
Roxas, however, said he funded the balance of P42.73 million of his campaign expenses with his personal money.
And yet neither the small amounts he spent in 1995 and 1998 nor the P42.73 million he spent in 2004—avowedly out of his own pocket— made a dent on Roxas’ net worth.
In December 1995, he reported a net worth of P26.27 million, grew this to P55.83 million by December 1998, raised it more to P76.82 million in December 2002, cut it by a third and closed December 2004 at P50.54 million. That means a net decline in his wealth by just a fraction of the P42.73 million he said he spent in the 2004 election. In time, Roxas recovered quickly and by December 2006 his net worth stood at P140.25 million.
Bets win, donors rule
But there is more context and subtext to the story of how and by whose money candidates bankroll their way to power. Two presidents had been there and done that, and if their election spending reports with the Comelec are a reference, the story moves on to how their campaign donors could have influenced them after victory.
Joseph Estrada won in 1998 with the largest margin of victory ever recorded for a presidential candidate. At his inaugural address on June 30, 1998, nearly all Filipinos broke in cheers and applause when he declared, “Walang kai-kaibigan, walang kama-kamag-anak . . . huwag ninyo akong subukan! [There are no friends, there are no relatives, don’t test me!]”
Little did people know that a week later, on July 9, 1998, he would file his election spending report with the Comelec and there enrolled the patrons of his presidency who he would mostly exempt from his bold, verbal edict against friends and kin.
To win the 1998 race, Estrada said he incurred total expenses of P118.48 million in all. Of this amount, he said he shelled out his own money (P2 million) and raised the huge balance of P116.4 million from various donors.
Positions, contracts
Interestingly enough, of the 60 individuals and seven organizations that he said donated to his presidential campaign, Joseph Estrada lost no time at all to award Cabinet portfolio, appointments to government corporations and financial institutions and contracts and other favors to more than half during his 18-month reign in Malacañang.
Joseph Estrada named his biggest cash donors as Ramon Lee, Luis Coson, Elsie Chua, Jesus Fernando and Manuel Sta. Cruz, who all gave P4 million each; Luis Juan Virata, Alfredo Ching Jr., Dante Tan, Mariano Bondoc Jr., Harry Tan, Edgardo Espiritu, Rufo Colayco, Bienvenido Santos, Roberto Anonuevo and George Go of Equitable Bank, who all gave P3 million each.
The other Estrada donors who gave from P500,000 to P2.5 million in cash were Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corp., Henry Cojuangco, Enrique Razon Jr. of ICTSI, Antonio Razon, Jose Ma. Razon, Federico Pascual, Carlos Arellano, Antonio Abacan Jr., Jose Pardo, Ramon Cardenas, Jose Lotilla Jr., Benny Brizuela, Carmelo Santiago, Jack Ng Sr., Henry Go, Alfonso Yuchengco 3rd, Cesar Virata, Elizabeth Virata and Solomon Cua.
Of his P118.48-million expenses, Estrada said he used P24.43 million for salaries, allowances and talent fees; P27 million for “ricorida,” posters and streamers; P12 million for campaign materials; and only P1.03 million in advertising.
‘The Firm’ tops list
President Arroyo, in her 2004 campaign for a full six-year mandate as president, reported spending P152.31 million.
This is apart from the P180.75 million that Antonio Vilar, designated treasurer of her party, 4K, or the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan para sa Kaunlaran, spent during the same campaign.
President Arroyo, for her part, splurged on “Airtime and Ads”—P101 million in all, or two-thirds of her total expense budget. She also used P15.26 million on campaign materials; P10.87 million on salaries, fees and allowances; P8.62 million on transportation; P4.45 million on representation expenses; and P3.28 million on census and survey services.
Of the combined P333.36 million donated to President Arroyo’s candidacy and to the 4K coalition, at least 12 donors stand out for the huge cash sums they gave that altogether made up for two-thirds or P185 million of the 4K campaign kitty.
The list is topped by Pancho Villaraza, who gave P30 million in cash to get President Arroyo elected. Villaraza is a co-founder of the Carpio Villaraza Cruz Law Firm, whose senior partners romped the beltway of President Arroyo’s Malacañang and occupied Cabinet and senior government positions from 2001 to 2007. Another partner in the so-called “The Firm,” Raoul Angangco, donated P8 million.
Other big-ticket donors of President Arroyo are: Antonio Villar, P40 million, including P10 million cash and P30 million on a loan secured from Metro Bank; Catalino Tan. Jose Perez and Jose Antonio, who gave P20 million each; Alfredo Ramos, Francisco Dizon, Pedro Tan and Raymund Moreno, who gave P10 million each; and Benito Araneta, P7 million.
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