Noy’s affluent Cabinet men have speedboats, luxury cars

MANILA, Philippines – Aside from living in posh subdivisions like Ayala Alabang and La Vista, the more affluent members of President Aquino’s Cabinet have listed speedboats, jet skis, expensive European cars and golf club shares among their prized possessions.

The richest of them all is Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima with P301.3 million in assets, followed by Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez who has P289 million in total assets.

Purisima listed properties in prime locations, including a unit in Wack Wack Tower Condominium, a P5-million property at Ayala Alabang and a condo unit in Pinecrest Village at Tagaytay Highlands in Tagaytay City.

He said he has club shares in Alabang Country Club, Tagaytay Highlands Golf and Country Club, Summit Development Golf Club, Splendido in Tagaytay, Tower Club and Manila Polo Club. 

All of these, he declared, are worth P290.1 million. His other assets include P7.8 million in various vehicles and P18.9 million in jewelry and art collection.

Jimenez listed a 22-foot speedboat worth P1.3 million and a P106-million residence in Ayala Alabang (where he has Purisima and Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. as neighbors), and a P43-million residence in classy Punta Fuego exclusive resort in Nasugbu, Batangas. 

The former advertising executive also listed P3 million in electronic gadgets and P14.3 million in vehicles – a P5.4-million Mercedez-Benz, P2.7-million 2013 Chrysler, Toyota Camry, Chevrolet pickup, Mazda CX-7 and a Volkswagen sedan. 

Jimenez also has club memberships in Riviera Golf and Country Club, Eagle Ridge and Country Club and Camp John Hay in Baguio City – all valued at P4 million.  

Health Secretary Janette Garin, an obstetrician-gynecologist by profession, is third richest with P141.5 million in assets. She has two Toyota Land Cruisers – a 2012 model worth P2.6 million and a 2013 model valued at only P1.1 million. 

Her other units include a Nissan Patrol Safari, an Isuzu Trooper and Hyundai Starex.  

The fourth richest with P92.9 million in assets is 60-year-old Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala. His 2015 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) showed a total of P3.2 million in speedboat and jet skis.

He also listed a P6.3-million 2008 Range Rover and a 2013 Toyota Alphard hi-tech van pegged at P3.1 million – apart from his P20-million residence in Acropolis, Quezon City and P3-million condominium unit at Somerset Tower along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City. 

Alcala, a former Quezon congressman, is a favorite buddy of the outgoing president. 

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, the fifth richest with P88.5 million in assets, lives in a P40-million residence in posh Magallanes Village and has a P10-million condo unit in Boni Ridge at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, aside from a duplex inside the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority complex at Subic.

He has a P12-million farm in Hermosa, Bataan that he claimed to have sold for P9.3 million in September 2015, aside from a P1.8-million 2010 Hyundai Starex and P1.1-million 2010 Mitsubishi Pajero. 

The DPWH chief also listed club memberships at the Manila Polo Club, Alabang Golf and Country Club, Canyon Woods and Villamor Golf Club. Singson “sold” his Alabang shares in June 2015 for P2.6 million. 

Science Secretary Mario Montejo, brother-in-law of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., is the sixth richest with P63.1 million in assets. He owns a P2.2-million condo unit at Capitol Hill in Quezon City.  

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, a retired Army general who also served during the first Aquino presidency in the late ’80s, has two European luxury Mercedez-Benz automobiles – a 1993 sedan he listed as worth P945,000 and a Benz ML pegged at P2.8 million. 

The former Presidential Security Group chief also has a P1.3 million 2008 Toyota Hilux. 

Chairperson Patricia Licuanan of the Commission on Higher Education lives at high-class La Vista subdivision along Katipunan Avenue at Loyola Heights, just alongside Ateneo de Manila University and Miriam College in Quezon City. 

She disclosed that she receives, as a widow, some $7,513 in monthly pension from the Asian Development Bank (about P345,598 at an exchange rate of P46).   

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, a lawyer by profession, listed a property at Daly City, California in the US that he acquired in 1982 at only P2 million but is now valued at P6.7 million. 

Lacierda listed a 2008 Volvo worth P400,000 and a P1.4-million 2013 Mitsubishi Montero as his properties, among others.

Secretary Joel Rocamora, lead convenor of the government’s National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), owns a beach property in Talaudyong, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and a P1-million farm in Negros Oriental. 

He listed four properties at the exclusive and posh Timberland Heights subdivision in San Mateo, Rizal – all of which have a combined worth of P15.2 million. Timberland Heights has a Baguio-like cold weather all throughout the year. 

Controversial Political Affairs Secretary Ronald Llamas listed “gun collections” worth P353,000, a Harley Davidson (Fatboy) big bike at P875,000 and a 2013 Chevrolet Trailblazer pegged at P1.7 million. 

Ochoa, the longest-serving executive secretary in history for completing the full six-year term of a sitting president, also declared “handguns” and “jewelry and other valuables” at P650,000. 

Often referred to as the “little president,” Ochoa has a P2.3-million farm in his hometown Pulilan, Bulacan and Toyota Hilux worth P1.6 million. 

Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento of the Department of the Interior and Local Government owns a P3.3-million condo unit along Ortigas Avenue in Pasig City and another P17.2-million condo unit at the Cebu Park District in Cebu City.   

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras haven’t filed their SALNs yet, along with Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas, Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. and Emmanuel Esguerra of National Economic and Development Authority.