Noli grew richer by P3.5 million in 2009

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Noli de Castro’s net worth grew by P3.5 million to P61.9 million last year from P58.4 million in 2008.

A copy of De Castro’s statement of assets and liabilities and net worth (SALN) for 2009 obtained by The STAR from the Office of the Ombudsman also showed the value of his real properties going up to P31.4 million last year from P29.4 million the previous year.

Improvements on his houses in Tierra Pura Homes, Tandang Sora, Quezon City and in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan explained the rise in the total value of his real estate assets.

De Castro’s SALN also showed a P1.5-million increase in the values of his other possessions like jewelry, paintings and other artworks, furniture, vehicles and shares of stock in ABS-CBN.

His liabilities, specified as outstanding loans from non-financial institutions, stood at P2.5 million, the same amount of payables he declared in 2008.

He listed the same number of relatives working in government. They included five cousins, four nieces, and a nephew. He also declared the same business interests and financial connections to ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. and Bayan Productions.

De Castro’s net worth has gradually but steadily increased by more than P3 million since 2007.

As vice president, De Castro declared in his SALN that he received a monthly salary of P46,200 or just a little over half-a-million pesos a year.   

President Arroyo is expected to beat the deadline for filing of SALN with the Office of the Ombudsman on April 30.

Mrs. Arroyo’s 2008 SALN made news last year because it reflected a staggering P44.9-million jump in her net worth to P144.5 million from the previous year’s P99.6 million.