LOOKING for a handsome pay?
Central Bank is the place to go, says the Commission on Audit in its 2021 report on the Salaries and Allowances (ROSA).
In its 1,316-page report released on June 17, COA said that the top 10 highest-paid government officials are all working at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Except for the salaries of the President, the Vice President and members of the Philippine Congress, the report listed some 9,050 principal officers of governing boards of government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) and their subsidiaries, Secretaries of major executive agencies, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, and other officials of national government agencies with equivalents ranks from highest to lowest.
Topping the list for the second consecutive year is no less than BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno who registered P41.812 million in personal earnings which translates to more than double what he had a year before.
For 2020, COA disclosed Diokno’s P19.792 million.
A breakdown of his total pay showed he received P12 million as basic salary; P24,000 personnel economic relief allowance/honorarium; P14.233 million in allowances; P13.589 million in bonuses, incentives, or benefits; and P1.966 million as discretionary fund for extraordinary miscellaneous expenses.
Diokno derived his entire compensation from his post as BSP governor although he also served without pay for sitting in the Board of Directors, Board of Trustees, or councils of the National Development Company (NDC), National Food Authority (NFA), Philippine Center for Economic Development (PCED), Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC), Philippine Guarantee Corporation (PhilGuarantee), Philippine International Convention Center, Inc. (PICC), Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA), and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
The top 10 are as follows
BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno – P41.812 million
BSP-Monetary Board member Victor Bruce J. Tolentino – P23.292 million
BSP-MB member Felipe M. Medalla – P21.831 million
BSP-MB member Antonio S. Abacan Jr. P21.71 million
BSP-MB member Peter B. Favila – P21.673 million
BSP-MB member Anita Linda R. Aquino – P21.426 million
BSP Deputy Gov. Chuchi G. Fonacier – P20.243 million
BSP Deputy Gov. Maria Almasara Cyd T. Amador – P20.176 million
BSP Deputy Gov. Francisco G. Dakila Jr. – P17.831 million
BSP senior assistant governor Ma. Ramon Gertrudes T. Santiago P17.381 million
BSP senior assistant governor and general counsel Elmore O. Capule with P17.249 million.
Solicitor General Jose Calida who occupied second spot in the 2020 list dropped to 12th place in the latest rankings with total earnings of P16.591 million, up P933,000 from the year before.
On the other hand, United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) executive vice president Eulogio V. Catabran III who ranked third in 2020 with P15.481 million in total earnings wound up at 773rd spot in the 2021 list, bringing home P3.08 million for the year.
The 2021 top 10 highest-paid government executives earned a total of P227.375 million compared to P151.261 million in 2020 or a 50.32 percent increase.
