WHO ARE THE RICHEST elective officials of the Philippines, and who, the poorest?
Did they rise to greater affluence or fall to greater penury over the years?
And, is there a match or mismatch between the wealth of public officials, and the weal of the people they serve?
We have 10 days to go before the vote on May 13, 2013 so we better check it out now.
MoneyPolitics, a citizen’s resource tool on elections, public funds, and governance in the Philippines, may be of some assistance.
Click on its Public Profiles tab to learn about the numbers enrolled in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) that top elective officials had filed, and subscribed and swore to as the facts of their wealth.
This tab offers full profiles on the wealth of the president, vice president, and senators.
Just as important this tab reveals the net worth of the party-list and district representatives, and the governors and vice governors of Philippine provinces.
These data came from the SALNs that PCIJ secured from the Office of the Ombudsman and other repository agencies.
But another tab, Elections and Governance will lead you to the lists of candidates in the 2013 elections and the voter turnout in the 2010 elections that PCIJ obtained from the Commission on Elections.
A page within this tab offers the latest socio-economic stats for the provinces, based on data from the National Statistical Coordination Board and the National Statistics Office, among other public agencies.
Why tap into these tabs?
The first, Public Profiles, might give us an initial KYC (Know Your Candidate) experience. Nothing wrong per se about candidates being rich but it is absolutely wrong in law for public officials to enrich themselves while in office.
The second, Elections and Governance, could give us our composite picture as communities, the living and working conditions of our people. It points to some bright spots, and many dark corners, in our country. It tells us what those aspiring to get elected on May 13, 2013 should address or speak about.
More than song and dance routines, perhaps we should demand that candidates tell us exactly how they intend to serve us better.
MoneyPolitics, a data journalism project of PCIJ, is just a click away.