ARE THEY RICH, or are they poor? Were they born to wealth, or did they make money on their own labors? Did they bare all the facts of their assets, or mask the important details? What money and which donors make up their power base?
Can the 33 candidates for senator explain their wealth?
As the nation prepares to vote tomorrow, May 13, 2013, the baseline data on the wealth of the candidates should be clear at the outset to all the voters. This way, once the lucky ones get into office, the people could discern the rise or fall in their personal fortunes. In short, a status quo ante record.
Our latest offering, The Wealth of the 33 Candidates for Senator, is a four-part story on the business interests and financial connections of the candidates for senator.
For this report, the PCIJ reviewed all the relevant public records (Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth or SALNs, election spending reports, and reports on use and disbursement of pork barrel funds) of the candidates with tenure in public office.
The PCIJ also conducted a reverse search of registry records at the Securities and Exchange Commission to check in which corporate entities all 33 candidates have significant or controlling interest.
Authored by PCIJ Research Director Karol Ilagan and PCIJ Researcher-Writer Rowena Caronan, this report consists of four parts:
* The re-electionist senators, or those seeking a second term of office.
* The members of the House of Representatives who are now aspiring to sit in the Senate.
* The former senators who want to return to the Senate.
* The new, and not-so-new, candidates who want to be senators, even as many of them have no significant record of public service as yet.
You may read the PCIJ’s report in MoneyPolitics Online:
* THE RE-ELECTIONIST SENATORS:
SALNS bare some, mask other details
* Sidebar:
Wealth + donors + clans = power baseTHE HOUSE’S WANNA-BE SENATORS:
* Propped by rich clans, big donors
* Sidebar:
Sons & daughters* THE WANNA-BE SENATORS AGAIN:
No paupers despite break from politics* The WANNA-BE SENATORS, TOO:
Family wealth, spouses’ assets boost a few newbiesThe individual profiles and datasets on the 33 candidates, by their SALNs, election spending reports, and corporate records from the SEC, may be viewed on MoneyPolitics Online and the PCIJ portal.