Foreign Affairs chief richest Cabinet member

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario is President Benigno Aquino III’s richest Cabinet official and Education Secretary Armin Luistro is his poorest, their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth show.

Del Rosario’s net worth stood at P627.09 million, and Luistro’s at P285,123.

Del Rosario, who was appointed in February, has P89.44 million in real estate properties and P537.64 million in stocks, club shares, furniture and appliances, cash on hand and deposits. He did not declare any liabilities in his statement.

Luistro does not own a house or any vehicles. He only declared P202,665.48 in cash on hand and P82,458 in salaries.

The two aside, the other Cabinet officials and their net worth are as follows:

• Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima (P255.97 million)

• Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo (P151.94 million)

• Energy Secretary Rene Almendras (P116.33 million)

• Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson (P88.62 million)

• Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala (P86.72 million)

• Health Secretary Enrique Ona (P74.24 million)

• Presidential Legislative Liaison Office head Antonino Roman (P63.35 million)

• Transport Secretary Jose de Jesus (P63.05 million)

• Science Secretary Mario Montejo (P53.16 million)

• Commission on Higher Education head Patricia Licuanan (P45.48 million)

• Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim (P43.92 million)

• Chief presidential legal counsel Eduardo de Mesa (P34.35 million)

• National Anti-poverty Commission chief Jose Rocamora (P29.38 million)

• Defense chief Voltaire Gazmin (P24.13 million)

• Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino (P23.77 million)

• Budget Secretary Florencio Abad (P22.83 million)

• Presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles (P21.52 million)

• Socio-economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga (P21.32 million)

• Environment Secretary Ramon Paje (P18.8 million)

• Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. (P15.77 million)

• National Security Adviser Cesar Garcia (P15.6 million)

• Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes (P14.92 million)

• Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma (P14.74 million)

• Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda (P13.73 million)

• Mindanao Development Authority head Lualhati Antonino (P13.56 million)

• Presidential Management Staff head Julia Abad (P13.3 million)

• Interior chief Jesse Robredo (P8.52 million)

• Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office head Ramon Carandang (P6.9 million)

• Justice Secretary Leila de Lima (P3.42 million)

• Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman (P2.32 million)

• Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz (P469,673). –Joyce Pangco Pañares, Manila Standard Today