Bong Go on being 2nd 'poorest' senator: Payamanan na lang sa serbisyo

CAPAS, Tarlac — Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go on Wednesday said he would rather be "rich" in public service than be among the wealthiest senators in the present Congress.

Go made the remark after the most recent summary of their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth showed that Go ranked as the second "poorest" in the current crop of senators, having a net worth of only P15,508,370.82.

In an interview with reporters here, Go said that despite being at the bottom of the list, he declared no more, no less in his SALN.

"Yun po ang totoo, nagsasabi lang ako ng totoo. Yun po ang dineclare ko, yun naman po ang aking ari-arian sa ngayon at noon pa po yun," he said.

Go declared total assets amounting to P28,070,780.82 and total liabilities worth P12,562,410.

He said being a senator is not about who gets to be rich in the quickest way possible, but about who can provide the most service to the public.

"Bakit, payamanan ba sa Senado? Para sa akin, kung sino po ang makapapag-serbisyo po sa kapwa Pilipino. It won't matter kahit pang number 24 [ako]. Marami pong mas mayayamang Senador, hindi natin kayang habulin yun," Go said.

"Ayoko pong makipaghabulan sa kanila. Ang akin lang is payamanan na lang ng serbisyo sa Pilipino. Pasipagan na lang at kung sino po ang makapagserbisyo sa kapwa Pilipino, yun ang aking tatargetin na maging number 1," he added.

Senator Cynthia Villar, the top notcher in the May 2019 elections, remained the richest in the batch with a net worth of P3,534, 412, 797.  Coming in close is the second billionaire in the Senate —boxing champ Manny Pacquiao with P3,005,808,000. — MDM, GMA News