Based on data provided by members of congress on their respective 2017 Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worths (SALNs), Negros Occidental third district Rep. Alfredo Benitez was revealed to be the third-richest legislator in the House of Representatives, reporting a net worth of around P1.004 billion.

The Negrense congressman also came in third on last year’s list.

He ranks behind two party-list representatives, 1-Pacman partylist Rep. Michael Odylon Romero, who chairs the board of Globalport 900 Incorporated and reported a net worth of P7.291 billion; and Diwa partylist Rep. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, the wife of Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, with a net worth of P1.407 billion.

Aglipay-Villar, meanwhile, was recently appointed undersecretary at the Department of Justice. She begins her new position next month.

Currently, Benitez is being floated as a possible candidate for senator or Negros Occidental governor in the upcoming 2019 midterm elections. Earlier, the mayors of his district unanimously endorsed the congressman as a replacement for Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr., who is in his third and final term./WDJ