Just recently, the national elections was seen to a close with many people satisfied with the results. But why do a lot of people in all previous industries want to enter politics? It’s not about just public service, believe me so it really begs to formulate the question why they’re eager enough to enter politics.
Is the salary handsome enough for them to just switch like that? Or are there benefits of being a government employee that makes them want to jump? So in this article, we will be answering the infamous question that many of you still ask every single day: how much do politicians and government officials earn?
The Salary Standardization Law IV
Compensation and benefits of Philippine politicians and government officials have seen gradual changes within the past years. Back in February 2016, former President Benigno Aquino signed the SSL IV to ok the increase in wages of government employees—including politicians and government officials, of course.
To give a brief background of this, the gradual increase started from the 1st of January 2016 until January 1, 2019. What’s good about this is that the increase was more than just a salary increase; the tranches provided better and a more rewarding incentive system based on productivity and merit accumulation.
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In this year, that SSL IV is on the fourth and final tranche. Although it was done in quite a subtle delay, the Philippine government said that the final tranche of the increase is still in the works.
They had the expectations that it’ll be done by the end of last year because the Congress signed the approval of the 2019 General Appropriations act (GAA). The budget set for this specific change was said to be at P3.757 trillion and it’s still in the works.
Good news for both Philippine politicians and government officials because back on the 15th of March 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte successfully issued the Executive Order (E.O.) no. 76. This was an amendment to E.O. 201 or also known as the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) which aims to release the overdue increase in the compensation of both Philippine politicians and government officials.
What is the SSL IV for?
You may have been wondering, why the increase? Well, the primary intention of the SSL IV is to discourage public workers and officials to initiate and be part of unruly and unethical acts. As most of us know, if you’re a public worker, you’re prone to be judged and to be looked at as an unscrupulous individual.
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So, the SSL IV aims to inspire government workers and officials to focus all of their energy and efforts in halting corruption, cutting red tape, and to direct their skills in serving for the good of the country.
So currently, how much do Philippine politicians and government officials earn?
Now that the fourth and final tranche has been approved and is being put to good use, these would be the salaries of Philippine politicians and government officials. Let’s start by looking at the first (1st) tranche back in 2016 as compared to the fourth (4th) tranche which was approved this year.
| Position | Salary grade | Monthly salary |
| President | 33 | ₱399,739 |
| Vice-President | 32 | ₱353,470 |
| Senate President | 32 | ₱353,470 |
| Senators | 31 | ₱295,191 |
| Members of the House of Representatives | 31 | ₱295,191 |
| Provincial Governor | 30 | ₱196,206 |
| Provincial Vice-Governor | 28 | ₱153,658 |
| City Mayor | 30 | ₱196,206 |
| Vice Mayor (Manila, QC, and highly urbanized cities) | 28 | ₱153,658 |
| Vice Mayor (component cities) | 26 | ₱120,337 |
| Government Employee Salaries as of March 2019 | |||
| Position or Title | Salary Grade (SG) | First (1st) Tranche in 2016 | Fourth (4th) Tranche in 2019 |
| Laborer I | 1 | PHP 9,478.00 | PHP 11,068.00 |
| Messenger | 2 | PHP 10,159.00 | PHP 11,761.00 |
| Clerk I Driver I | 3 | PHP 10,883.00 | PHP 12,466.00 |
| Mechanic I Stenographer I | 4 | PHP 11,658.00 | PHP 13,214.00 |
| Carpenter II | 5 | PHP 12,488.00 | (Step 2) PHP 14,115.00 |
| Electrician II | 6 | PHP 13,378.00 | (Step 2) PHP 14,961.00 |
| Secretary I | 7 | PHP 14,331.00 | PHP 15,738.00 |
| Administrative Assistant Bookkeeper | 8 | PHP 15,368.00 | PHP 16,758.00 |
| Education Research Assistant I | 9 | PHP 16,512.00 | PHP 17,975.00 |
| Cashier I Nurse I Teacher I Agrarian Reform Program Technologist | 10 | PHP 17,730.00 | PHP 19,233.00 |
| Budget Officer I Chemist I Agriculturist I Social Welfare Officer I | 11 | PHP 19,077.00 | PHP 20,754.00 |
| Engineer I | 12 | PHP 20,651.00 | PHP 22,938.00 |
| Veterinarian I | 13 | PHP 22,328.00 | PHP 25,232.00 |
| Legal Officer I | 14 | PHP 24,141.00 | PHP 27,755.00 |
| Administrative Officer II | 15 | PHP 26,192.00 | (Step 2) PHP 30,909.00 |
| Dentist II | 16 | PHP 28,417.00 | (Step 2) PHP34,000.00 |
| PostMaster IV | 17 | PHP 30,831.00 | (Step 4) PHP 38,332.00 |
| Forester III | 18 | PHP 33,452.00 | (Step 3) PHP 41,650.00 |
| Associate Professor I | 19 | PHP 36,409.00 | PHP 45,269.00 |
| Rural Health Physician | 20 | PHP 39,768.00 | PHP 51,155.00 |
Those are the official salaries of government employees. As you can see, there was a significant increase seen in the salaries of these officials.
Here’s the new salaries of Philippine politicians.
| Philippine Government Officials Salaries as of March 2019 | |||
| Position or Title | Salary Grade (SG) | First (1st) Tranche in 2016 | Fourth (4th) Tranche in 2019 |
| President of the Philippines | 33 | PHP 160,924.00 | PHP 399,739.00 |
| Vice President of the Philippines | 32 | PHP 153,376.00 | PHP 313,564.00 |
| Senate President | |||
| Speaker of the House of Representatives | |||
| Chief Justice of the Supreme Court | |||
| Senator | 31 | PHP 117,086.00 | PHP 295,191.00 |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |||
| Associate Justices of the Supreme Court | |||
| Chairman of a Constitutional Commission under Article IX (1987 Constitution) | |||
| Member of a Constitutional Commission under Article IX (1987 Constitution) | 30 | PHP 96,354.00 | PHP 178,043.00 |
As you can see, significant increase can also be seen for Philippine Government Officials starting 2016 and now. If you are interested in seeing the steps and tranches of this salary increase, you can refer to the Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines website. In addition to that, you can check the source of this salary from the website of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
What is a salary step?
If you may have noticed, there’s a step mentioned in some of the latest salaries of government employees. In case you’re wondering what this is, well a salary step is the known hike or increase of the salary which is based on experience.
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As per the DBM, there currently are 33 salary grades of the present salary schedule. Salary Grades 1 to 32 contains a total of eight (8) salary grades which are used to give incentives for a certain position in the service.
The President of the Republic of the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte receives a monthly salary of P399,739.00 because he is now in the 2nd Step level of his tenure and service this year, 2019.
Where do they get the funds for the salary increase of Philippine politicians and government officials?
Despite the delay of the GAA approval, Salvador Panelo, Presidential Spokesperson mentioned that E.O. 76 was the exact command by our President for the DBM to find funds for the continuation of the fourth and final tranche of the salary increase of workers of the state.
He said that the President wishes this to be acted upon as swiftly as possible and as accordingly.
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The President does not want to prolong the overdue salary increase that our public servants, who have been working tirelessly and silently for the last two months, have been looking forward to.”
Now that their salaries will see more of an increase, do you think that public officials and Philippine politicians would serve the country more? Would hiking the salaries of Philippine politicians and government officials be a good way of maintaining orderliness in our country?