Aquilino Pimentel III, ex-speaker Velasco biggest Congress spenders in 2022

MANILA, Philippines —  Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III was the biggest spender among senators in 2022 with almost P130 million, while Sen. Mark Villar was the most frugal with expenses at only P35 million.

In the Senate report published in The STAR, Pimentel spent P129,986,851 from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, for salaries and benefits of his staff, meetings and conferences, consultation fees, supplies and materials as well as rental of motor vehicles and equipment.

Villar spent P35,783,642.

At the House of Representatives, former speaker Lord Allan Velasco turned out to be the biggest spender for fiscal year 2022, according to figures in the published report. The newspaper ad was authenticated by Isaiah Reynoso, the House’s supervising auditor.

The lone Marinduque congressman incurred a total of P39 million in expenses. He had three other districts under him.

Pimentel was followed by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian with P121,380,201 and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri with P119,988,086.

Sen. Lito Lapid incurred expenses of P115,207,540, while Sen. Risa Hontiveros spent P115,147,925 and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa P115,103,593.

Sen. Nancy Binay recorded expenses of P111,206,583 while Majority Leader Joel Villanueva incurred P111,520,883. Sen. Grace Poe had a total expense of P108,262,396 while Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. had P108,349,465 and Sen. Sonny Angara with P107,523,115.

Sen. Francis Tolentino had P105,077,169 while Sen. Imee Marcos reported expenses of P103,313,071; Sen. Bong Go spent P88,850,102, while Sen. Pia Cayetano had P99,845,464.

Former senator Francis Pangilinan had P71,300,574, while former senator and now Finance Secretary Ralph Recto had P76,770,920 expenses, former senator and boxing champ Manny Pacquiao P77,175,534 and Sen.  Cynthia Villar P78,484,184.

Former senators Panfilo Lacson had P60,410,511, Richard Gordon P67,369,861 and Leila de Lima P69,656,324.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada spent P56,025,451, Sen. Raffy Tulfo with P54,300,826, Senate President Pro-Tempore Loren Legarda P53,058,765 and Sen. JV Ejercito P50,549,386.

Former senator Franklin Drilon had P46,123,186; Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano with P46,028,233, Sen. Chiz Escudero with P10. 44,321,503 and Sen. Robinhood Padilla P41,525,920.

Zubiri, Padilla, Legarda, Tulfo, Gatchalian, Escudero, Mark Villar, Alan Peter Cayetano, Villanueva, Ejercito, Hontiveros and Estrada got a fresh mandate in the 2022 senatorial elections.

Go, Lapid, Dela Rosa, Tolentino, Marcos, Pia Cayetano and Revilla are up for reelection for their second six-year term in the 2025 elections.

Pimentel, Binay, Angara, Poe and Cynthia Villar will serve until 2025 and are on their second and last term.

Ranked second was Rep. Eric Go Yap of party-list ACT-CIS, who used to be the chairman of the House appropriations committee under the Duterte administration, after having incurred P38.8 million in total expenses, as he also temporarily took over the district of Benguet.

Third was now Speaker Martin Romualdez of the first district of Leyte province, who previously served as majority leader for three years under Alan Cayetano’s and Velasco’s watch.

Romualdez, president of the ruling Lakas-CMD, recorded P34.3 million in total expenses in 2022, also because he became caretaker of the district of southern Leyte.

Expelled Negros Oriental third district congressman Arnulfo Teves spent P28.2 million for the entire 2022, almost similar to that of militant Rep. Arlene Brosas of women’s group Gabriela, who spent P26 million, which is par for practically all House members for that particular year. – Delon Porcalla