Former United Coconut Planters Bank president Higinio Macadaeg Jr. topped the list of the highest paid government executives with earnings totaling P20.475 million, according to the 2019 Report of Salaries and Allowances released by the Commission on Audit.
Solicitor General Jose Calida secured second place after taking home P16.953 million. He jumped four places from sixth in 2018 after his pay increased by P4.48 million.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno landed in third place with P15.45 million. He joined the central bank in March 2019 after working as secretary of the Budget department. And as Budget secretary in 2018, Diokno was the 316th top-earning government official with P3.44 million.
Apart from Macadaeg’s P19.63 million in total compensation as UCPB president, the commission’s report showed that he also received allowances for sitting in the board of subsidiaries of government-owned and -controlled corporations, with P423,000 from UCPB Savings Bank Inc., P270,000 from UCPB Leasing and Finance Corp., and P18,000 from UCPB Securities Inc.
The Commission on Audit’s 2019 list ranked 8,930 government officials based on their basic salaries, honoraria, allowances, bonuses and incentives, and discretionary or extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses.
Also in the list were the principal officers and members of the governing boards of government-owned or -controlled corporations and their subsidiaries, department secretaries, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries and other officials of equivalent ranks from national government agencies.
Executives of government financial institutions occupied 17 places in the top 20 list.
Two other non-GFI officials in the list were Supreme Court Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta in 13th place with P10.37 million and Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe with P10.22 million.