Cunanan grilled in Senate over electric bills, travels, lifestyle

By: Maila Ager - 11 years ago

Cunanan almost broke into tears while giving his statement to the Senate. KRISTINE SABILLO/黑料社

MANILA, Philippines鈥擲enators听on Thursday听scrutinized Dennis听Cunanan鈥檚 lifestyle, starting from his听electricity bill up to听his听alleged frequent听travels听abroad, when听he faced the Senate blue ribbon committee on Thursday.

For someone who lives in a posh subdivision in Quezon City, Senator Grace听Poe wondered how Cunanan manages to pay only P10,000 in electric bill every month.

Cunanan, director听general on-leave of the Technology Resource Center,听said that his net worth was P2, 161, 547 while his taxable income every year was P776, 216.

鈥淟umalabas na halos P63,000 ang suweldo mo buwan-buwan. Mga magkano ang kuryenteng binabayaran mo? (It appears that you鈥檙e getting almost P63,000 salary every month. How much do you pay for your electric bill?)鈥� Poe asked.

鈥淢isis ko po kasi ang nagbabayad (My wife鈥檚 the one paying). I suppose it鈥檚 in the range of P10,000 to P11,000鈥︹€澨� Cunanan said.

鈥淧arang imposible kasi ang P10,000 sa ganung klaseng鈥asensya na kasi鈥ay dating yung bahay at sa tingin ko kung mga ganun lang (ang inyong kuryente), parang magrereklamo ako, bakit ganun lang? (It seems it鈥檚 impossible that you鈥檇 pay P10,000 for a house like that. Pardon me but the house has impact and from what I see, if it鈥檚 like that, regarding your electricity bill, I would complain),鈥� Poe said.

But Cunanan said they were using economy savers and that his wife, who hailed from Pangasinan, has been good at saving their electricity consumptions.

鈥淎ng tatay ko ay taga-Pangasinan rin. Kahit noong nabubuhay s鈥檡a ay hindi pa rin ganun na P10,000 o P11,000 ang kuryente (My father was also from Pangasinan. Even when he was alive, our electricity bill won鈥檛 reached those figures, P10,000 to P11,000),鈥澨� said Poe, referring to the late famous actor-director-producer, National Artist for Film Fernando Poe Jr.

鈥淜ahit na P63,000 ang sweldo鈥� P10,000 sa kuryente, meron pang mga stickers sa kotse, gasolina pa. Mahirap intindihin鈥�(Even if your salary is P63,000, with P10,000 for electric bill, you鈥檇 still have stickers (LTO, among others), gasoline too. It鈥檚 hard to figure it out鈥︹€澨� Poe added.

Cunanan also听clarified听that he was just renting the house of his brother听in White Plains.

Senator听Ramon 鈥淏ong鈥� Revilla Jr., who sent听his questions to Cunanan听through the committee,听 also questioned Cunanan鈥檚 lifestyle, including听his vehicles and travels abroad.

And to prove that there was nothing irregular with his lifestyle,听Cunanan produced听a certification to prove that most of his travels abroad were covered听by his functions听as an official of the Junior Chamber International (JCI), a non-sectarian, non-political youth service organization.

鈥淭his letter certifies that Mr. Dennis Cunanan served JCI in several capacities since 2008,

namely as JCI vice president听in 2008, chief executive assistant in 2009, general legal counsel in 2010, and executive vice president in 2011,鈥澨� said the certification dated March 2 and signed by JCI deputy secretary general Arrey Obenson.

鈥淚n the aforementioned capacities both elected and听appointed, Mr. Cunanan was assigned budget annually which covered his airfares, and lodging expenses for all travel that was related to his duties.鈥�

Cunanan鈥檚 travels in 2012 related to his position as secretary general of the JCI, it further said, have also been covered by the chamber.