Tomas O ‘poorest’ Cebu solon P5.1M

6/1/2012

CEBU City’s two congressmen yesterday gave copies of their 2012 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) upon request of Cebu Daily News. Cebu City Rep. Tomas Osmeña said he thinks all SALNS should be posted in the Internet for the world to see. With a declared net worth of P5.1 million and no real property , Osmeña said he isn’t ashamed to admit he’s the "poorest" of Cebu’s congressmen. First-time legislator Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar recorded a net worth of P30,011,200 in her SALN, most of it in three landholdings in Cebu City and a Makati condominium. “As a public official, I have to adhere to the principle that public office is a public trust, she said. A call for full transparency was underscored by Tuesday’s ouster of Chief Justice Renato Corona over his failure to declare his full cash assets in the SALN. CDN asked nine Cebu members of the House of Representatives to disclose their current SALNs which are filed with the Secretary General ‘s office in Quezon City. Rep. Red Durano of the 5th district and Rep. Luigi Quisumbing were the first to e-mail or fax copies to the CDN newsroom. Under oath, they certified that their personal wealth was P15.8 million for Quisumbing and P13.6 million for Durano. Two other solons, 3rd district Rep. Pablo John Garcia and 4th district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon asked for more time, saying there was a period of revision to “correct” entries reviewed by the House. Osmeña yesterday said "the SALN should be made available to the public. They (the House leadership) should put it on the Internet,” he said. This would save him the bother of photocopying it whenever someone requests for it, he said. House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte on Tuesday said he would discuss with congressmen how to go about revealing the documents so that “everyone does it”. Osmeña and del Mar both declared the same income of P1 million per annum. In the document dated April 20, 2012, Osmeña’s assets have no real properties listed. (With the death last Nov. 6, 2011 of his mother Lourdes dela Rama , however, he is expected to inherit a share of sizeable landholdings in Negros Occidental and Cebu.) As his personal and other properties, the former Cebu City mayor said most of his wealth was in cash of P3.9 million and “car and accessories” at P1.89 million, along with jewelry worth P175,000, stock investments worth P660,000 and appliances and furniture worth P320,000. His residence with wife Councilor Margarita Osmena is in 168 Don Gervasio Quijada Streeet in Guadalupe, Cebu City. The congressman said “six units” of firearms were donated to him in 2011. Total assets of P6.9 million were offset by two loans, a personal loan of P1.5 million from his sister Maria Victtorio Osmeña Stuart and a Metrobank car loan for P380,000. For business interests, Osmena said he and his wife were stockholders in two firms in Cebu City - Happy Stars Promotion & Consultant INc. and Southern Gems Fashion Inc. in June 2006. His relatives in government are his wife Margot and elder brother Sen. Serge Osmena III. Meanwhile, Cutie del Mar, e-mailed a copy of her 2012 SALN to CDN. It showed net assets of a little over P30 million with no liabilties. Her income of P1,000,121 a year was the same figure as Osmeña’s. The single legislator resides in Canyon Road, Beverly Hills in Cebu City and declared four real properties with a total worth of P21.8 million, which was the bulk of her personal wealth. There were three lots in Cebu City (Busay, Lahug and Ayala Heights), and a P16 million condominium in Makati . The properties were bought in 1991, 1995, 2001 and the latest, the condominium in 2002. She owns P2 million in shares of stock acquired in 1989 and P6.2 million in cash and jewelry in 1987. Although everyone knows her as the daughter of former congressman Raul del Mar, Cutie has no family members or relatives in government, according to the SALN. /Edison A Delos Angeles and Ador Vincent Mayol www.cdn.ph