Purisima: new guidelines to keep excess pay in check

In light of the furor over excessive benefits of water officials, Philippine fiscal managers started to work on guidelines for the compensation and allowances of officials of government- owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs). In an ambush interview in Malacañang Thursday, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the departments of Finance and Budget would set the pay and benefits standards of GOCC and GFI officials that would then be presented for President Benigno Aquino III to approve. "It will indicate a range of acceptable packages pay as well as allowances," Purisima said. "If approved, [the guidelines] will be issued to all GOCCs and GFIs… so we can avoid repeating the excesses in MWSS [Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System]." In his first State of the Nation Address, Aquino revealed that board members of the MWSS received several allowances and packages equivalent to 30 months worth of pay. It was too much, Purisima said, even in the private sector where "spectacular performance" is sometimes rewarded with three to fourth months worth of pay. Asked what is an acceptable range pay and allowances, Purisima replied, "I suppose benchmarking it with the private sector is not a bad start. That should be the cap. But somewhere in between what we in government get and the private sector, might be the best." The finance chief said the Finance and Budget departments will also propose that all directors sign a "covenant on good governance" to ensure that they will "actually take the interest of the government rather then their own when they sit on those boards." Purisima said he has also asked the Commission on Audit to do a special audit of all GOCCs and GOFs as of June 30 to properly set the cut off between the start of the Aquino administration and the former Arroyo administration. Aquino lamented in his SONA that excessive spending by the Arroyo administration left the country with a wider-than-programmed deficit and less than half of the 2010 national budget for his administration to work with for the rest of the year. —Jam Sisante/VS, GMANEws.TV