LIST: Top paid government officials in 2023

MANILA, Philippines – The top brass of the country’s central bank once again dominated the list of highest-paid government executives in 2023, based on the latest Report of Salaries and Allowances (ROSA).

The two highest officials in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) brought home the biggest earnings in 2023. Current BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. topped the list, followed by former BSP governor Felipe Medalla.

Remolona was compensated P22.99 million for his position as BSP governor, and another P12.49 million for serving as a member of the Monetary Board (MB), the powerful seven-member group that decides on the country’s monetary policy.

He also served multiple other executive-level posts in government agencies, although these were all without pay.

The top paid government official based on the ROSA is often the central bank governor. Before passing the leadership of the BSP to Remolona, Medalla topped the 2022 list. Before him, former BSP governor and finance secretary Benjamin Diokno was the highest-paid government head from 2020 to 2021.

The ROSA only covers the top officials of government-owned and/or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries, as well as the secretaries, undersecretaries, and assistant secretaries of government departments. These include government corporations, water districts, national government agencies, state universities and colleges, and standalone agencies. It does not report the compensation of the President, Vice President, and members of Congress.

Here is the full list of the top 20 highest-paid officials:

1. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. – P35.479 million
2. Former BSP governor Felipe Medalla – P28.05 million
3. BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier – P26.003 million
4. BSP MB member Anita Linda Aquino – P25.05 million
5. BSP MB member Victor Bruce Tolentino – P24.747 million
6. BSP Senior Assistant Governor Edna Villa – P23.519 million
7. BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. – P23.32 milion
8. BSP Senior Assistant Governor and general counsel Elmore Capule – P22.34 million
9. BSP Senior Assistant Governor Johnny Noe Ravalo – P21.6 million
10. BSP Senior Assistant Governor Iluminada Sicat – P21.124 million
11. BSP Deputy Governor Eduardo Bobier – P21.014 million
12. BSP Senior Assistant Governor Ma. Ramona Gertrudes Santiago – P20.773 million
13. Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa – P19.648 million
14. Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra – P17.812 million
15. Development Bank of the Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Michael de Jesus – P17.038 million
16. BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan – P16.889 million
17. Government Service Insurance System President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo Veloso – P16.628 million
18. Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo – P16.318 million
19. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Kho Jr. – P16.08 million
20. BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat – P16.07 million

All figures were presented before taxes. – Rappler.com