Garin, Abad and Licuanan are Highest Paid Cabinet Members Under Aquino Administration

Health Secretary Janet Garin, Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) were the highest paid Cabinet member under the Aquino government, the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed Thursday.

COA’s 2015 Report on Salaries and Allowances (ROSA) show that Garin had the heftiest paycheck in 2015. She has a total of Php2.521 million in 2015, which includedPhp1.08 million as basic salary as DOH secretary; Php408,037.31 allowances; Php235,000 bonuses/incentives; Php348,000 discretionary funds, and Php24,000 additional compensation/honorarium.

The report listed the salaries of 8,311 government executives, which included Cabinet secretaries, officials of 957 government agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

Aside from this, the report further claimed that Garin received Php425,750.91 as chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth).

The report noted that the Health secretary also sat in concurrent capacity as chairperson of the governing boards of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), Philippine Heart Center (PHC), Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP), and Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC), and as a trustee of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) but did not receive any pay.

Second Aquino cabinet member with the highest paycheck was Abad d with Php2.234 million, landing 429th on the ROSA list.

The report said, Abad received Php1.092 million in basic salary; Php173,000 in allowances; Php213,980 in bonuses/incentives; Php308,000 discretionary fund, and Php24,000 additional compensation/honorarium.

The report said Abad also received an additional pay of Php423,788 as head of the DBM-Procurement Service.

He, however, did not receive any compensation for sitting in the governing boards of the National Development Company, National Home Mortgage and Finance Corp., National Power Corp., Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., Development Academy of the Philippines, and Philippine Center for Economic Development.

Licuanan followed Abad with Php 2.209 million paid in 2015, which included Php1.091 million basic salary; Php451,496.14 allowances; Php 238,980 bonuses/incentive; Php292,000 discretionary fund, and Php134,500 additional compensation/honorarium.

Topping the entire list was Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. with Php13.96 million earnings, followed by Government Service Insurance System general manager Robert Vergara with Php13.45 million.

The fourth highest paid cabinet official was Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz with Php2.167 million in earnings, including Php1.103 million in basic salary;Php350,070.42 allowances; Php 226,980 bonuses/incentives; Php186,856 discretionary fund; Php 217,017 “other” payments, and Php28,000 honorarium.

Landing on the fifth spot was Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo who had Php2.166 million earnings, which included Php 1.080 million in basic salary; Php 475,708.76 allowances; Php237,000 bonuses/incentives; Php 336,000 discretionary fund, and Php24,000 honorarium.

Sixth place was Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala with Php2,075,539.48; Seventh was Transportation Sec. Joseph Emilio Abaya with Php2,058,417.10; and landing in eight place was Justice Sec. Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa with Php2,038,018.56/Leila M. de Lima with Php1,907,552.77. In the ninth place went to Education Sec. Armin Luistro with Php1,997,325.36; and tenth place was National Anti-Poverty Commission chairman Jose Eliseo Rocamora with Php1,995,000

Other Cabinet members in the list were (11th) Executive Sec. Paquito Ochoa Jr., Php1,951,520.77; (12th) Presidential Adviser on Military Affairs Danilo Cortez, Php1,934,623.33; (13th) Trade and Industry Sec. Gregory L. Domingo, Php1,932,511.59; (14th) Finance Sec. Cesar Purisima, Php1,931,860; and (15 th) Presidential spokesperson Edwin F. Lacierda with Php1,919,305.98. (PNA) RMA/SFM