Ched chair highest-paid Cabinet exec; anti-poverty body chief 4th

CHEd Chair Patricia Licuanan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) chair Patricia Licuanan topped the list of highest-paid members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet in 2016, earning up to P2.58 million, according to a Commission on Audit (COA) report on the salaries of government officials.

She was followed closely by Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial who was paid P2.4 million last year, and Science Secretary Fortunato dela Peña who received P1.36 million in salary, allowances, and other benefits.

The report covered all financial perks for other positions the officials were holding concurrently or had held prior to joining the Cabinet in the middle of 2016 when Mr. Duterte assumed office.

National Anti-Poverty Council Lead Convenor Liza Maza was fourth with P1.24 million, while Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II was fifth with P1.2 million, based on COA’s 2016 Report on Salaries and Allowances published on the its website this week.

The rest of the top 10 highest-paid Cabinet members were Agriculture Secretary Emmauel Piñol with P1.19 million, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez with P1.18 million, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar with P1.16 million, and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi with P1.16 million.

Vice President Leni Robredo, who served as housing secretary until she resigned in December over political and policy differences with the President, was much farther down the list with a salary of P1 million.

All the secretaries were actually only at the low end of the COA salary list dominated by executives from government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and financial institutions.

BACKSTORY: GOCC execs earn more than Cabinet members

Overall, Licuanan ranked only 342nd on the list, while Ubial was 396th and Dela Peña was 1,672nd.

Robredo was the 2,682nd highest-paid official overall.

At the very top of the salary-earners list were four executives of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP): outgoing governor Amado Tetangco Jr. with P15.9 million, incoming governor Nestor Espenilla with P12.28 million, and deputy governors Diwa Gunigundo with P12.24 million and VIcente Aquino with P12.14 million.

In fifth place was Government Service Insurance System president and general manager Robert Vergara who received P9.74 million in salaries, allowances and other benefits, the COA list showed.

READ: Duterte eyes cap on GOCC pay, bonuses

Teresita Herbosa, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, placed eighth overall with P8.34 million.

In the judiciary, Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita De Castro was the top earner with P8.14 million, good enough to place her 12th overall.

A total of 8,729 officials from 981 government agencies and instrumentalities are included on the COA list, which is accessible online.

Pursuant to his agency’s mandate of ensuring transparency in governance, COA chair Michael Aguinaldo submitted the salary report in April to the President as well as to Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.