Speaker latest lawmaker to declare SALN; list still short
Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III is the latest on what is still a short list of lawmakers who have disclosed their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs), a document of heightened interest amid the ongoing investigations into public works corruption.
Dy made the disclosure on the same day he reconstituted the House committee in charge of collating, reviewing and regulating access to the SALNs submitted by members of the chamber as required by law.
The two simultaneous moves were seen as a signal pressuring more House members to make their SALNs public.
Based on the copy of his SALN released to the media on Wednesday, the Isabela congressman who assumed the House leadership on Sept. 17 has a declared net worth of P74 million.
11 lots, four businesses
His assets are worth a total of P121 million, consisting of 11 agricultural lots and five residential house and lots, mostly purchased in the 1990s, as well as P25 million in cash and nearly P30 million in various investments.
He also declared four businesses where he is either partner or stockholder: Queen Isabela Agriventures in Cabagan, Isabela; Love Cakes by Ann and Gan Co. in Pasig; and Isabela Hotel and Resort by Dy Inc. and Northeastern Broadcasting Service Inc. both in Cauayan.
Dy also declared four vehicles: a Toyota LC 76 series, a Toyota Hi-Lux FX, a Toyota Alphard van, and a Hi-Ace Super Grandia bought between 2017 and 2022.
He declared P47 million in liabilities, bringing his net worth to P74 million.
The SALN also indicated that he currently has at least 16 relatives in government, including his own son Faustino “Inno” Dy V who is now Echague mayor (though still labeled in his SALN as sixth district representative, Dy’s current post) and his two nephews, Faustino Michael Dy III and Ian Paul Dy, who are both serving in Congress as fifth and third district representatives, respectively.
Dy was so far the first and only majority House member to release his SALN.
Minority lawmakers from the Akbayan and Makabayan bloc have declared theirs weeks earlier, at the height of the congressional inquiries into flood control project anomalies.
Last week, Dy said he would “lead by example” by releasing his SALN amid the mounting clamor for lawmakers and other public officials to be more transparent about their sources of income and business interests, one way to dispel suspicions of ill-gotten wealth from shady government deals.
Dormant committee
The Speaker issued a memorandum order on Oct. 20 appointing both majority and minority lawmakers to the SALN review and compliance committee, a panel that had lain dormant since the Duterte administration.
Now virtually reactivated, the committee is expected to review the current rules of procedure in the filing, review, disclosure of, and access to the SALNs submitted by House members. The documents are kept in the Office of the Secretary General.
Dy appointed Deputy Speaker and South Cotabato Rep. Ferdinand Hernandez as committee chair, with Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor and Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo as vice chairs.
The members are TGP Party list Rep. Jose “Bong” Teves Jr., Tarlac Rep. Maria Cristina Angeles, Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, Ilocos Norte Rep. Angelo Barba, and Dinagat Islands Rep. Arlene Bag-ao.
The committee secretariat will be composed of senior officials from the legal affairs, legislative operations, and administrative departments, the Office of the Secretary General, the committee on rules, and the Records Management Service, along with one representative from the Office of the Speaker.
The SALN which Dy made public on Wednesday was submitted to the committee on July 15, 2025, or about two months before he succeeded Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as Speaker.
In September, the Akbayan bloc composed of Representatives Chel Diokno, Perci Cendaña and Dadah Ismula, and Dinagat Islands Representative Bag-ao, were among the first lawmakers to publicize their SALNs.
They did it while also filing a resolution directing the Office of the Secretary General to make the House SALNs public.
Bicycles included
Of the four, human rights lawyer Bag-ao declared the highest net worth at P15.05 million, followed by Diokno at P13.1 million. Both cite their real estate properties, policy insurances, and personal vehicles as constituting the majority of their assets.
Neophyte lawmaker Ismula declared a net worth of P3.2 million, while second-termer Cendaña declared P1 million.
On Friday last week, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago and Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co also sent copies of their SALNs to reporters “as done numerous times in the past… [in] the spirit of transparency and accountability.”
Based on their SALNs dated July 1, 2025, Tinio has the highest net worth among the three, with P10.9 million. Most of his declared assets are from real estate, including a P14.9-million condo unit bought in 2022; two agricultural lots worth a combined P6.2 million, as well as three bicycles priced between P20,000 and P80,000.
Tinio also declared two bank accounts opened in 2025, one with P32,817.29 and the other, for his wife, with P668,674.95.
‘P280,000’—that’s it
Elago came in second with a net worth of over P1 million, her most valuable asset being a Toyota Innova bought in 2025 and valued at P860,000.
Co, a lawyer, had the lowest net worth of the three with only P280,000, of which nearly half are savings deposited in banks.
Rep. Eli San Fernando, also a first-term lawmaker, declared P2.2 million in net worth, mainly the value of his house. He also declared cash in bank amounting to P48,000.
Another neophyte lawmaker, Rep. Kiko Barzaga, released his SALN on Tuesday declaring a net worth of P5.375 million.
His declared assets are composed of a 2019 cash donation worth P3.025 million, cash from his monthly income from 2019 to 2024 totaling P2.35 million, as well as a Toyota Camry and a Toyota HiAce.
Barzaga said he had yet to declare a P35-million inheritance from his late father, former Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., as part of his assets, pending a formal transfer.
