Ben Diokno still highest-paid official in 2021; Calida slides down to 12th spot

DIOKNO / FILE / SAVED AUGUST 6, 2020
Benjamin Diokno
INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

MANILA, Philippines — Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno remained the highest-paid government official in the country in 2021.

Diokno’s salaries and allowances last year totaled over P41.811 million, according to the Commission on Audit’s (COA) 2021 Report on Salaries and Allowance (ROSA).

This was more than double the salaries and allowances Diokno received in 2020, which amounted to P19.79 million. He also topped the list of highest-paid government officials then.

Diokno was followed by fellow BSP officials, namely BSP Board Member Representative Victor Bruce Tolentino and BSP Monetary Board members Felipe Medalla, Antonio Abacan, Peter Favila, and Anita Aquino, well as Deputy Governors Chuchi Fonacier, Maria Almasara Amador, and Francisco Dakila.

Senior Assistant Governors Ma. Ramona Santiago and Elmore Capule were in the 10th to 11th spot, respectively.

Solicitor General, SC chief

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Jose Calida further slid down to the 12th spot. His total salaries and allowances amounted to P16.590 million.

Still, this is higher than his total earnings in 2020, which totaled P15.65 million, which landed him in the second spot that year.

READ: Medalla, Diokno highest paid government officials

Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, for his part, was the highest-paid member of the judiciary at the 15th spot, with a total of P13.214 million in salaries and allowances in 2021.

COA’s 2021 ROSA reported on 9,050 high-ranking government officials’ salaries and allowances across 999 government agencies. The report was uploaded on the COA website on June 17, 2022.

EDV/abc