Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has declared a net worth of P89 million in his latest Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate finance committee, confirmed this on Friday when asked by reporters about his SALN.
“Kaunting movement lang naman ‘yung aking assets because nu’ng naging public servant ako, hindi ako masyadong, wala namang masyadong personal activity. So, nagbenta lang ako ng shares I think mga six years ago, seven years ago. And then after that, wala naman masyadong movement,” he said in an ambush interview.
(There was a slight movement in my assets because when I became a public servant, I didn’t have much personal activity. So, I only sold shares I think about six or seven years ago. And then after that, there wasn’t much movement.)
Gatchalian also encouraged his fellow lawmakers to do the same in a bid to bring back the public’s trust to government officials.
“Ang context kasi natin ngayon ang tiwala sa public servants eh, tiwala sa mga politiko. Sa aking personal na analysis, nawala talaga ang tiwala ng taumbayan sa mga politiko. So one way of bringing it back, ‘yung tiwala ng taumbayan, ilabas ang ating SALN,” the senator said.
(Our context now is trust in public servants, in politicians. In my personal analysis, the people really lost their trust in politicians. So one way of bringing the public’s trust back is by releasing our SALN.)
“Actually, ang laki ng SALN, hindi ‘yun ang, para sa akin, hindi mahalaga. Ang importante, saan mo kinukuha ang source ng income mo? Kapag lumaki ‘yun dahil may legitimate source ka, then mabuti. Pero kung lumaki ‘yun [at] hindi legitimate ang source mo, then may problema,” he added.
(Actually for me, the amount of the SALN is not important. What’s important is to know where you got the source of your income. If it grows because you have a legitimate source, then good. But if it grows and your source is not legitimate, then there is a problem.)
Other senators who have also released their SALNs to the public are Risa Hontiveros, Robin Pangilinan, Raffy Tulfo, Kiko Pangilinan, and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
