Bill seeks GOCC pay cap

MANILA, Philippines – Two Mindanao congressmen are proposing to limit compensation in government owned-and-controlled corporations (GOCC) to about P100,000 a month.

In Bill 2653, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and his brother Maximo, representative of the party-list group Abante Mindanao, said

President Aquino himself has exposed the anomalous salaries, allowances and bonuses that GOCC officers are receiving.

“Further, the Commission on Audit (COA) has released a report showing that top officials and board members of GOCCs and government financial institutions (GFIs)have ‘excessive and unwarranted’ salaries, allowances, bonuses, and other perks,” they said.

The officials are Armand Arreza of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), who, according to the COA, received P26.9 million in 2009; Benigno Ricafort of Clark Development Corp., P14.5 million; Edgardo Garcia of the Development Bank of the Philippines, P12.7 million; Amando Tetangco Jr. of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, P10.8 million; Benedicto Ernesto Bitonio Jr. of DBP, P9.3 million; Rolando Geronimo (DBP), P9.1 million; Narciso Abaya of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), P7.6 million; Horacio Templo of the Social Security System, P7.1 million; Armando Samia (DBP), P7 million; Theresa Quirino (DBP), P6.7 million; Isaac Puno III (BCDA), P6 million; Jesus Guevarra II (DBP), P5.6 million; Armando Suratos (BSP), P5.5 million; Wilfredo Maldia of Land Bank, P5.5 million; Andres Sarmiento (Land Bank), P5.4 million; Oscar Garcia of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), P5.4 million; Benilda Tejada (DBP), P5.2 million; Diosdado Jose Allado (MWSS), P5 million; Cresencio Selispara (Land Bank), P4.9 million; and Diwa Gunigundo (BSP), P4.9 million.

“It is not right that these officials and board members are living the high life while majority of the population of the country are living below the poverty line. Even employees of GOCCs and GFIs that these officials manage are clamoring for more reasonable and decent salaries,” the Rodriguez brothers said.

“It should be remembered that public office is a public trust. Thus, a law has to be passed that will rationalize/standardize to a reasonable level the compensation package of the top officials and board directors of GOCCs and GFIs,” they said.

In their bill, the basic pay of GOCC and GFI officers should not exceed Salary Grade 30 under Republic Act 6758, or the Salary Standardization Law.

Salary Grade 30 is the pay level of an undersecretary, which is about P50,000 a month.

On top of that amount, a GOCC or GFI officer would get P10,000 as cost-of-living allowance, P5,000 as food subsidy, P10,000 as representation allowance, P10,000 as transportation allowance if he is not provided an official vehicle, P2,000 as medical allowance, and P5,000 for attendance in a maximum of three board meetings.

Additionally, he would also receive a 13th month pay which is mandatory, a 14th month pay depending on the savings of the GOCC or GFI, a P10,000 Christmas bonus, and a P20,000 annual clothing allowance.

All told, the compensation package an officer or board member of a GOCC or GFI would get under House Bill 2653 would amount to more than P1.3 million a year.