MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo’s wealth grew threefold in 2020 largely due to her inheriting cash and other properties after her mother’s death.
According to Robredo’s 2020 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth obtained by Philstar.com through her office, her wealth increased to P11,904,280 from just P3,539,478 in 2019.
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Bulk of the increase in Robredo’s wealth came from the P8,314,802 million in cash that she inherited and that she said in her SALN is still subject to final settlement.
On her radio program over radio dzXL last Sunday, Robredo said her declared wealth might still change as her mother’s estate has yet to be settled among her siblings.
Aside from cash, Robredo also inherited a house and lot in Concepcion, Naga City, residential land in Patong, Pamplona, and three lots of agricultural land in Mambulo Viejo, Libmanan and Patong, Pamplona. All of these properties are in Camarines Sur, her home province.
She also inherited two vehicles — a Honda Civic and a Suzuki Celerio.
Apart from her inheritance, her assets were largely unchanged, except for her prepaid insurance which slightly increased to P705,000 from P655,000 in 2019.
Her liabilities also remained the same at P11,904,280.
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‘In the interest of transparency’
Philstar.com obtained Robredo’s SALN through a Freedom of Information request with her office, which it granted "in the interest of transparency" after just one working day.
This runs in stark contrast to the process of obtaining the SALNs of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has not released his wealth declarations since 2018.
Malacañang has refused to release Duterte’s SALNs and insisted that those who would want to see the president’s wealth declarations must go through the process set by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires has restricted access to the SALNs of officials, arguing that these have been "weaponized."
READ: Ombudsman limits access to government officials' SALNs
The document can only be released if the official who filed it or his representative makes a request; if ordered by the court in relation to a pending case; and if the request is made through the Office of the Ombudsman’s field investigation office to conduct a fact-finding probe. — with reports from Alexis Romero, Helen Flores/The STAR