BSP execs highest paid in gov't; Calida is 4th

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. and Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo were the highest paid government executives in 2017 with a combined income of more than P28.4 million.

According to the Commission on Audit's 2017 Report on Salaries and Allowances (ROSA), Espenilla earned more than P14.92 million in 2017. He had an income of more than P12.282 million in the 2016 ROSA, where his predecessor Amando Tetangco Jr. topped the list.

Espenilla's earnings consisted of his basic salary of P7.19 million, P24,000 worth of honorariums, allowances amounting to P2.48 million, bonuses valued at P4.84 million, and discretionary and extraordinary miscellaneous expenses worth P371,834.52.

Guinigundo took the second spot after reportedly earning P13.5 million in 2017. This included his P6.6-million basic salary, honorariums worth P44,000, P1.98 million in allowances, P4.52 million worth of bonuses, and P360,000 in discretionary and extraordinary miscellaneous expenses.

He ranked third in 2016 with an income of P12.248 million.

Development Bank of the Philippines president Cecilia Borromeo, who assumed the post in January 2017, made her debut in the ROSA in third place with a reported income of P12.46 million.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Jose Calida was the lone Cabinet-ranked official who made the top 10. He earned a total amount of P10.9 million in 2017.

The bulk of Calida's earnings came from his honoraria which reached more than P7.98 million, while his basic salary was only pegged at P1.82 million. He also had allowances worth P386,142.46, bonuses amounting to P382,753.75, and discretionary and extraordinary miscellaneous expenses valued at P336,000.

In contrast, Calida only earned P2.4 million from July to December 2016.

The 2016 ROSA also showed his predecessor, Florin Hilbay, ranked 28th with reported income of P5.8 million.

BSP Deputy Governor Maria Almasara Tuano-Amador came in fifth place in the 2017 ROSA followed by Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. in sixth place with reported earnings of P10.16 million and P9.59 million, respectively.

Amador was appointed to the BSP in January last year.

Velasco, on the other hand, went up 10 ranks in the 2017 ROSA. His earnings went up by more than P2.64 million compared to the P6.94 million he received the previous year.

Velasco's earnings included his basic salary of P1.94 million, honarariums of P2.79 million, allowances worth P2.94 million, bonuses that reached P1.18 million, and P732,000 worth of discretionary and extraordinary miscellaneous expenses.

Three other BSP officials — Assistant Governors Wilhelmina Manalac and Ma. Ramona Santiago; and Monetary Board members Felipe Medalla and Juan de Zuniga Jr. — completed the top 10 list of highest paid government executives.

The ROSA included 8,645 government employees from 984 government-owned and -controlled corporations, government financial institutions, state universities and colleges, and water districts. —JST, GMA News