Arroyos still need to explain wealth rise, says lawmaker... =)

[Ian]

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her two sons in Congress still
have a lot of explaining to do regarding the rise in their wealth
since they stepped into public office, an opposition lawmaker said
Wednesday.

In a statement, Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño said the Arroyos should
personally explain the wealth stated in their Statement of Assets,
Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) when the House, through House
Resolution 1358, holds an inquiry into the effectiveness of SALNs in
determining public officials' real net worth.

"It has never been adequately explained how in just three years, from
2002 to 2005, Mikey increased his net worth by P71.9 million, or from
P5 million to P76.9 million. And then in 2009, this further increased
to P99 million. Definitely, he could not have amassed such wealth on
his salary as a public official. But his SALN fails to indicate how he
did it," said Casiño.

Mikey’s wealth reportedly ballooned from the time he got married to
wife Angela in June 2002 and became Pampanga vice governor in 2001-04.
He was elected congressman for Pampanga’s 2nd district in 2004 and got
re-elected in 2007.

In an interview over GMA's Unang Hirit on Tuesday, Mikey said a large
part of his recent wealth came from generous wedding gifts and
campaign donors.

“Alam niyo nung kinasal tayo nuon, medyo nagkaroon tayo ng maraming
regalo. Tapos pag kampanya, siyempre kahit papaano marami ding
tumutulong sa atin. Hindi naman sa nakaipon, pero siyempre nakakagaan
ng kaunti and we had some good investments," he explained.

(You know, when I married my wife, we received plenty of gifts. And
during campaign periods, we had plenty of donors. It’s not that we
hoarded donations but these helped lessen our personal expenses and we
were able to make good investments).

The presidential son also said, “In 2002, I was a vice governor. I
only became congressman in 2004, under the law assuming you make
mistakes in your SAL, you can always amend it the next year as long as
you pay the proper taxes," he explained.

“Hindi pa tayo marunong mag-declare nun, so siyempre those
shortcomings are amended the next year," the Pampanga representative
added.

But Casiño said the First Family's explanations of their wealth were
insufficient. "If we simply look at their SALN, the logical conclusion
is that these unexplained wealth could have come from illegal sources,
or at least were acquired without proper disclosure."

The militant lawmaker said the President has also failed to explain
the dramatic increase in her net worth from P67 million in 2001 to
P144 million in 2008.

"We need the Arroyos to explain what happened so that Congress can be
guided in coming up with legislation on how to improve the system. If
it is true, as Mikey says, that everything was legal and transparent
but there just might have been some mistakes by his lawyer who filled
up the form, then he should not fear the House investigation. We can
even help in making sure he does not commit any mistakes the next time
around," Casiño added.

Questions arose over the SALNs of Mikey and his brother, Camarines Sur
Rep. Diosdado "Dato" Macapagal Arroyo, following a Vera Files report
saying the brought luxury US homes in the US after they got elected as
congressmen. The two, however, denied any irregularity in their SALNs
and maintained that they declared everything that needed to be
declared. - GMANews.TV

[Noel Bico]

Corruption!
that's one of the problem our nation is experiencing nowadays.
Filipinos are not all benifited by the tax they are giving. Where are
the assets of the Philippines? It is hidden unlike liabilities that
comes nearer and nearer; larger and larger. Foreign debts are
surprising to the Filipinos. Then, we should act on this. It is not
right. Let us say "no' to corruption.
On Sep 2, 8:57 pm, Ian <jullian.yu...@yahoo.com> wrote:

[angie]

your point of views against corruption are right
NO to corruption

[Noel Bico]

Thanks for supporting my post. Hope that others may be enlightened
too.
On Sep 5, 6:08 am, angie <angelica.2...@gmail.com> wrote:

[angie]

Your Welcome ☻(^_^) ☻.......