Comelec chief Bautista richest among heads of constitutional bodies

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista is the richest among the heads of the five constitutional commissions in the government, based on their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) for the year 2016.

Bautista had a total net worth of P176.3 million as of December 31, 2016, up by P6 million from his 2015 net worth of P170.3 million.

His 2016 SALN also showed that he has total assets of P241.8 million, composed of P158.5-million worth of real properties and P83.3-million worth of personal properties.

His liabilities, meanwhile, amounted to P65.5 million.

The constitutional commissions were created under the 1987 Constitution independent from the three branches of the government. They are the Comelec, the Commission on Audit (COA), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Office of the Ombudsman.

GMA News Online obtained their SALNs on Thursday.

Following Bautista is Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, who has a total net worth of 54.13 million for 2016, or P2.02 million higher than her 2015 net worth of P52.11 million.

Morales' increased wealth was brought about by a growth in her total assets, at P54.13 million for the year 2016 compared to P52.11 million in 2015. Her SALN also showed that she has liabilities for the years 2015 and 2016.

COA chairman Michael Aguinaldo came a close third, with P51.07 million net worth in 2016, up by P4.66 million from his 2015 net worth of P46.41 million.

Aguinaldo declared a total assets of P53.34 million and total liabilities of P2.27 million for the year 2016.

Following Aguinaldo is CSC chairman Alicia Bala, with a 2016 net worth of P21.86 million — an increase of P8.77 million from her 2015 net worth of P13.07 million.

Bala's 2016 SALN showed that she had a total asset of P22.03 million and total liabilities of P171,300.

CHR chairperson Chito Gascon came in last among the constitutional commission heads, with a total 2016 net worth of P6.08 million, up by only P729,824.66 from his 2015 net worth of P5.35 million.

He declared a total assets of P7.2 million in 2016 and total liabilities of P1.12 million.

The Office of the Ombudsman had earlier released the SALNs of President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo.

Based on their SALNs, Duterte had an increase of more than P3 million in his net worth in his first six months in office, while Robredo's wealth decreased by more than P2 million since she became vice president. —KBK, GMA News