Vice President Sara received P300K, President Marcos zero for Cabinet posts

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte was paid a total of P300,000 last year as the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), while President Marcos received zero pay as concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture, a Commission on Audit (COA) report showed.

Based on the COA’s “2022 Report on Salaries and Allowances” or ROSA uploaded on its website last Thursday, Duterte received P168,000 in allowances and P132,000 in discretionary and extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses (EME) for a net pay of P300,000. This was for her six months as DepEd secretary from June 30 to Dec. 31, 2022.

Included in the ROSA as the secretary of agriculture, Marcos did not receive any salary, allowances or other pay for the post which he has been occupying since assuming the presidency on June 30, 2022, COA’s breakdown showed.

Duterte’s take-home pay as education secretary, meanwhile, appeared to be the lowest compared to the amounts received by other members of Marcos’ Cabinet.

The 2022 ROSA showed that Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno got the heftiest paycheck among Marcos’ Cabinet members – a net pay of P28.781 million.

Diokno’s net pay included P6 million in basic salary as the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for six months from January to June 2022, prior to his appointment as finance secretary for which he received P1.640 million in basic salary for July to December 2022.

Diokno’s net pay also included P7.278 million in allowances; P11.555 million in bonus, incentives and benefits; P2.195 million in discretionary and EME, P24,000 in additional compensation and honorarium and P89,067 classified as “others.”

The second highest paid member of Marcos’ Cabinet was Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan with a net pay of P6.947 million.

Balisacan’s net pay included P3.128 million in basic salary as chairman of the Philippine Competition Commission from January to June 2022 until his appointment as socioeconomic planning secretary, which entitled him to P1.646 million in basic salary for July to December 2022.

His take-home pay also included P1.182 million in bonus, incentives and benefits; P354,000 in discretionary and EME, P262,000 in allowances, P23,863.63 in additional compensation and honorarium and P350,636 from prior years’ adjustments.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, meanwhile, appeared to be the third highest paid Cabinet member last year with a net pay of P6.484 million.

Guevarra’s total pay also included the salaries and other compensations he received as justice secretary in the first six months of 2022.

The COA’s breakdown showed that Guevarra received P1.672 million in basic salary as justice secretary for six months (January to June 2022) and another P1.672 million in basic salary as solicitor-general general from July to December 2022.

Guevarra’s net pay also included P1.424 million in additional compensation and honorarium; P612,230 in bonus, incentives and benefits; P599,266 in allowances; P324,500 in discretionary and EME and P180,927.25 from prior years’ adjustments.

Guevarra’s net pay paled in comparison with that of his predecessor, former solicitor-general and COA chairman Jose Calida, who took home a total of P13.449 million.

The audit body’s record showed that Calida received P1.640 million in basic salary as solicitor-general for six months from January to June 2022 during the Duterte administration, until he was appointed by Marcos as COA chairman, for which he received P809,339.53 in basic salary in just about three months (July to September).

Calida resigned as COA chairman, as announced by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, on Oct. 4.

Commission on Higher Education Secretary Prospero De Vera III was the fourth highest paid Cabinet member with P5.103 million net pay. COA’s record showed that De Vera’s net pay was for his full 12 months in office.

Marcos retained De Vera after the end of his term of office under the Duterte administration.

The fifth highest paid member of Marcos’ Cabinet was Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., whose net pay was P4.909 million, comprising his salary, allowances and other remuneration as DOST undersecretary in the first half of 2022 and as secretary in the second half of the year.

A total of 9,619 officials from 1,000 national government agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations, state universities and colleges and water districts were included in COA’s 2022 ROSA.

COA’s ROSA does not include elected government officials such as the president, vice president, senators and congressmen.