List: 10 highest paid gov’t execs in 2011

MANILA, Philippines – The 2011 list of government’s top earners is quite different from 2010. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) chairman used to top it. Not anymore.

In 2011, the higest earners are officials from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), and the Philippine National Construction Corp (PNCC).

According to a report from the Commission on Audit (COA), here are the top earners in the government bureaucracy in 2011:

1. BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr – P10.58-M
2. DBP COO Edgardo Garcia – P9.83-M
3. GSIS Benedicto Arcinas Jr – P8.97-M
4. GSIS Henry Aguda – P8.35-M
5. GSIS Robert Vergara – P8.32-M
6. GSIS Nora Saludares – P7.64-M
7. PNCC Luis Sison – P7.593-M
8. DBP Benedicto Bitonio – P7.588-M
9. BSP Juan de Zuniga – P7.4-M
10. BSP Diwa Gunigundo – P6.977-M

This means that Tetangco’s monthly gross pay would be close to P900,000 a month, a far cry from President Benigno Aquino III’s monthly gross of P95,000. A Cabinet Secretary receives at least P90,000 a month now, due to the salary standardization law. Before this law took effect, the President was just receiving about P50,000 a month and a Cabinet Secretary’s monthly pay was just more than P30,000.

Pagcor chief Cristino Naguiat Jr ranked 22nd in 2011, earning P5.43 million. In comparison, COA reported in 2010 that Naguiat got a whopping P69 million in the 6 months he served that year.

When President Aquino assumed office on June 30, 2010, Naguiat replaced Pagcor chief Efraim Genuino, who himself earned P287.4 million in the first 6 months of 2010.

But the huge totals include Pagcor’s confidential/intelligence and discretionary funds. It’s not clear in the 2011 report if Naguiat’s paycut means his discretionary funds were taken out of his “salary” but are still at his discretion to spend.

While BSP’s Tetangco got about the same salary for 2010 and 2011, others received smaller salaries compared to previous years.

In 2010, for example, former DBP CEO Edgardo Garcia got P11.9 million. It was higher than his P9.83 million in 2011.

Then PNCC president Ma Theresa Defensor also got P12.5 million, higher than Sison’s about P8 million.

The salaries of executives in government-owned corporations are much higher than the average wage department officials, who receive a range of P30,000 to P50,000 a month. – Rappler.com