The wealth of President Arroyo may have soared since she was swept into office in 2001 but it doesn’t necessarily mean she stole it, a Palace official said Tuesday.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez said the President’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) showed her investments, including real estate properties, have accumulated value over time.

Gonzalez said it was “natural” for a person’s properties, including prime real estate assets, to amass higher value as years go by.

Citing an example of how an asset’s value soars in the market, Gonzalez said the house he bought in Valle Verde for P700 per square meter in the 1980s is now worth P30,000 to P35,000 per square meter.

“Ang laki ng yaman ko pero hindi ko ninakaw yan. Tumaas ang bili ng halaga ng lupa,” he said.

Gonzalez said the President filed her SALN as truthfully as she can and should not be criticized for her transparency.

There is nothing irregular about the President’s doubling of wealth “as long as the public official has substantially complied with the requirement of the law,” according to Gonzalez.

Apart from their venture in profitable real estate, Gonzalez said the First Couple’s assets have also reportedly increased due to investments in the stock market.

He said the First Couple have seen their shares of stock rise and fall in the financial market.

“Kapag naglalaro ka sa stock market, nagsusugal ka. Isang araw bilis ng yaman mo, isang araw bagsak na bagsak ka,” he said.

“Ang masama lang diyan kung alam mo ang stock na lalaki. These are things where you do not just accuse somebody without looking for the details behind it,” he added.

Reports said the President’s personal wealth has increased from P66.8 million in 2001 to P143.54 million in 2008.

The President’s election lawyer, Romulo Macalintal, however quickly denied that the President wrongly declared her wealth in her SALN, and challenged her critics to take the case to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Several lawmakers have already called on the President to account for the massive increase in her wealth for the past eight years in power.