Solon: P100K monthly is enough for Cabinet execs with GOCC seats

Cabinet members should only receive a total of P100,000 a month in exchange for serving as board members of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), a congressman said on Thursday. "The amount should be sufficient," Dasmariñas City Rep. Elpidio F. Barzaga Jr. told GMANews.TV. Similarly, members of President Benigno Aquino III’s official family should also be limited to receiving compensation from only three GOCCs and/or government financial institutions (GFIs), he said. Barzaga cited a circular issued by late president Corazon Aquino that disallowed officials from receiving more than three sets of salaries from government firms. He made these remarks a day after Aquino announced he will issue an executive order enforcing a cap on the salaries received by officials sitting as board members of GOCCs and GFIs. In a press conference at the Palace on Wednesday, the President mentioned that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had issued a similar directive in 2001 but it was not enforced. (See: Malacañang to enforce cap on GOCC salaries) On the other hand, Senator Franklin Drilon who heads the Senate finance committee wants more immediate action. Also on Thursday, he called on Aquino to immediately suspend the "excessive" allowances and other perks “until we can properly come up with the correct policy on this." (See: Drilon asks Aquino to suspend excessive perks of GOCC execs) Barzaga, for his part, is focusing on Cabinet members who as members of GOCC or GFI boards receive attendance fees for regular and special board meetings, plus possibly other incentives, on top of their emoluments as heads of their respective departments. "We are not singling out any Cabinet member. We also have nothing against Cabinet members getting extra pay for additional work, provided the aggregate extra compensation is not excessive," Barzaga said in another statement issued earlier. Moreover, since GOCC and GFIs have their own charters, board members "have the power to fix their renumeration," the congressman said. "The Senate and the House of Representatives will eventually have to amend their charters," he added. Although he recognized that reforming GOCC and GFI charters may take time, the Dasmariñas representative said that the President “should appeal to the board members’ sense of good judgment." And if that fails, their appointments should not be renewed, he added. Multiple directorships Barzaga cited the case of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), National Development Co. (NDC), Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth). Six Cabinet members sit on PSALM's governing board, while five Cabinet members each sit on the boards of NDC, Pag-IBIG and Philhealth. Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga Jr., Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, and Trade Secretary Gregorio Domingo all serve on PSALM's board, Barzaga’s statement said. Purisima, Almendras, Abad, and Domingo also serve on NDC's board, together with Environment Secretary Ramon Paje. Purisima, Abad and Domingo also serve on Pag-IBIG's board, along with Vice President Jejomar Binay (as chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council) and Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. Baldoz also serves on Philhealth's board, which has four other Cabinet members — Health Secretary Enrique Ona, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman. Baldoz and Purisima also serve on the board of the Land Bank of the Philippines. Purisima likewise serves on the board of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, while Baldoz also serves on the boards of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. Extra perks Earlier this week, the congressman issued another statement urging Cabinet members to disclose their extra perks for sitting on boards of state corporate entities. "To give more meaning to President Aquino's openness policy, they should lead by example and voluntarily disclose the additional pay they are getting," Barzaga said. In his first State of the Nation Address, President Aquino had excoriated members of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System for receiving excess pay.—Robert JA Basilio Jr./JV, GMANews.TV