Kim Henares commented on the SALN of Sen. Mark Villar
Senator Mark Villar released his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), and this was questioned by former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares.
Villar, just like other Senators, released his SALN, showing that he has PHP 1,261,337,817 net worth as of December 31, 2024. In his SALN, he stated that he has business interests in Himlay’s Realty Incorporated and Major Asset Ventures Holdings Inc.
With this net worth, he is considered as the current richest senator while Sen. Chiz Escudero is the poorest senator as he declared that he has PHP 18,840,082.62 net worth.
In line with Mark Villar’s SALN, ex-BIR Commissioner Kim Henares criticized the politician, in a recent episode of Bilyonaryo News Channel’s ‘Business 360’ program, based on the article in Abante News.
Henares said that Villar’s SALN is questionable. “If you look at the SALN of some of the senators, it raises more questions than answers some questions,” she said.
Then, she specifically mentioned the SALN that Villar released with almost P844 million under “other real and personal properties”.
Henares pointed out that the way Mark Villar did that to how he listed his P844 million that way, while his sister Sen. Camille Villar presented the document was different. It was said that these itemized shareholdings were in several Villar companies. They are in the same family, but they had a different approach to this
“What does this tell you about how inconsistently these SALN rules are being applied even among public officials in the same family?” the former government appointee said.
For her, since Senator’s SALN declaration seems unclear, this raises even more questions. Henares said that this means that P844 million does not include shareholdings in companies. With this, she said that it raised another question.”
“Your sibling, how come your sister has a shareholding in all your in most of Villar companies? How come you, as the brother, do not have any shareholding? That’s the other question mark,” the former BIR Commissioner said.
Henares also insisted that the Civil Service Commission (CSC) guidelines are clear regarding the correct way to fill out the SALN.
“I’d like to state that the Civil Service Commission has an FAQ on how to fill up your SALN,” she pointed out, emphasizing that they should have read it.
Then, she said that if Sen. Mark Villar was able to itemize his cars in his SALN, then why was he not able to itemize other real or personal properties?
The former BIR chief also stressed that the purpose of the SALN Law is to make public and verify the assets of government officials by the government and the public.