Friday, August 6, 2010

P-Noy's measly paycheck, brain drain, and why corruption persists

The other day, the dailies reported that Pres. Noynoy Aquino finally got his first paycheck -- amounting to an unimpressive P63,002.17 net of taxes.

Some people seemed to appreciate this and even use this as a way to shame executives in GOCCs who have been vilified for the many perks they receive. 

I am not saying I support the salaries and perks that many GOCC executives have rewarded themselves with.

But it got me thinking. After all, in an ideal world, salaries should be reflective of depth of responsibility, skills and performance.

The country's president, you might say, is like the CEO of the biggest corporation in these 7,100 islands. He is responsible for a budget of over P1 trillion annually. He is supposed to creatively use that budget to stimulate economic activity nationwide so that within these borders, around P9 trillion worth of products will be produced annually.

His clients consist of over 80 million Filipinos (not sure of latest NSO data) and counting, many of whom think that it is part of his responsibilities to ensure that they eat daily, are able to send their kids to school, and lead healthy, happy lives. 

It's a daunting task. It's beyond 24/7. Surely, he deserves more than P63k a month. Your average restaurant manager will probably earn more.

Now there are those who believe that by working in government, one actually chooses to serve the public. Therefore, one should not expect to be paid well. 

Yes, public office is public service. To some extent, serving in government should indeed be dictated by a sense of altruism.

But we should not forget that government officials are also normal people with normal needs.

I'm quite sure that the President, being the scion of a well-to-do family, is not dependent on his salary as president alone. Many politicians are not. But many of our civil servants are dependent on their salaries. 

And many of them have rent or mortgages to pay, kids they need to send to feed and send to school, elderly parents who may need hospitalization from time to time.

Your sense of altruism can be sorely tested when you are unable to pay your electricity bills; and when you are confronted by material responsibilities to your own kin.

We are not even talking yet of what you must feel when your college pal shows you his nice new Fortuner and his equally flashy iPad.

If the president receives only P63k, net of taxes, every month, what could his underlings earn? 

How much will the cabinet secretary earn? Down the line, how much will the teacher, the geologist, and the ordinary soldier earn?

Former Civil Service Commission chair Karina David used to emphasize the "accordion effect" of setting the president's salary too low. By doing this when they enacted the salary standardization law, Congress effectively reduced the potential salaries of all other officials in government. [The GOCCs and other favored agencies are another matter.]

The way things are going, many good and decent civil servants only use government as a spring board for more lucrative positions later in life in the private sector. That is what happened to the meteorologists and the geologists who left PAGASA and the MGB.

Geologists in private companies could earn as much as P150,000 a month compared to P25,000 in government. It's not surprising then that the MGB has already lost 83 geologists since 2006. Would you blame them for seeking greener pastures?

Then there are those who take advantage of the other "perks" of public office. The ability to say "yes" and "no" can be a very expensive commodity. The price of a signature quickly increases depending on what's at stake.

Temptations can be very difficult to refuse, particularly if one has very little to loose anyway.

Previous studies on corruption and why it persists have stressed time and again the following imperatives to curbing corruption in government: (1) reduce the opportunities for corruption [by reducing red tape]; (2) higher probability of being caught [lifestyle checks, etc.]; (3) improve salaries.

You would think twice of committing a corrupt act if you know that there is a high likelihood that you might get caught and you have too much to loose, such as a steady source of respectable income.

I'm not saying P-Noy's salary should therefore be the same as that of Manny Pangilinan, and the salaries of cabinet officials same as that of executives at San Miguel Corporation. We cannot afford that as a people. Even President Obama does not earn as much as Wall Street moguls do.

Public office is still public service. Serving in government should still be attended by a sense of altruism. But we should pay our public servants enough to enable them to lead respectable lives.

Many of them deserve it. 

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