Marcos to make another...

by a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White house.

“By showing up our individual and collective capabilities, we are able to advance our countries as well, as the Indo-Pacific region’s security, stability, and economic prosperity as the testament to positive momentum to our bilateral relations, President Biden and I, have identified concrete steps to ensure that our partnership and alliance remains relevant, responsive to current, emerging challenges to the defense, security, and economic spheres,” marcos also said before members of the U.s.-AseAN Business Council. marcos’ remarks came amid rising tensions in the West Philippine sea after the Chinese Coast Guard fired water canon at Philippine Coast Guard vessels escorting boats carrying supplies for Armed forces of the Philippines personnel aboard the ground BrP sierra madre on Ayungin shoal on August 5. n

Vice President Sara received P300K...

P354,000 in discretionary and eme, P262,000 in allowances, P23,863.63 in additional compensation and honorarium and P350,636 from prior years’ adjustments.

solicitor General menardo Guevarra, meanwhile, appeared to be the third highest paid Cabinet member last year with a net pay of P6.484 million.

Guevarra’s total pay also included the salaries and other compensations he received as justice secretary in the first six months of 2022.

the CoA’s breakdown showed that Guevarra received P1.672 million in basic salary as justice secretary for six months (January to June 2022) and another P1.672 million in basic salary as solicitorgeneral general from July to December 2022.

Guevarra’s net pay also included P1.424 million in additional compensation and honorarium; P612,230 in bonus, incentives and benefits; P599,266 in allowances; P324,500 in discretionary and eme and P180,927.25 from prior years’ adjustments.

Guevarra’s net pay paled in comparison with that of his predecessor, former solicitorgeneral and CoA chairman Jose Calida, who took home a total of P13.449 million.

the audit body’s record showed that Calida received P1.640 million in basic salary as solicitor-general for six months from January to June 2022 during the Duterte administration, until he was appointed by marcos as CoA chairman, for which he received P809,339.53 in basic salary in just about three months (July to september).

Calida resigned as CoA chairman, as announced by executive secretary Lucas Bersamin, on oct. 4. Commission on higher education secretary Prospero De Vera III was the fourth highest paid Cabinet member with P5.103 million net pay. CoA’s record showed that De Vera’s net pay was for his full 12 months in office. marcos retained De Vera after the end of his term of office under the Duterte administration.

the fifth highest paid member of marcos’ Cabinet was science and technology secretary renato solidum Jr., whose net pay was P4.909 million, comprising his salary, allowances and other remuneration as Dost undersecretary in the first half of 2022 and as secretary in the second half of the year.

A total of 9,619 officials from 1,000 national government agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations, state universities and colleges and water districts were included in CoA’s 2022 rosA.

CoA’s rosA does not include elected government officials such as the president, vice president, senators and congressmen. n