VERA Files
A video on Facebook (FB) is claiming that President Ferdinand Marcos has not received any pay or allowance. This is misleading because while the chief executive received no salary or allowance last year for his concurrent position as agriculture secretary, he received a salary as president.
On Aug. 7, an FB page published the video that bore this headline:
“Wow! PBBM walang natanggap na kahit magkanong sweldo at allowance (Marcos did not accept any salary or allowance)?”
At the start of a two-minute and 43-second video, a narrator cited an Aug. 5 FB post of news media IBC Digital as its source.
IBC Digital’s post indeed stated that Marcos received no salary or allowance as acting secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), but he received a monthly salary as president.
According to the Commission on Audit’s (COA) 2022 Report on Salaries and Allowances, Marcos received zero salary, allowance or other pay during his tenure as the concurrent DA secretary from June 30 to Dec. 31 last year.
Under the Constitution, elected officials such as the president “shall not receive additional compensation and/or per diem, by reason of such position or membership in those other offices, boards, commissions, instrumentalities or private entities.”
As president, however, Marcos receives the highest pay under Salary Grade 33 or a monthly salary ranging from P419,144 to P431,718 based on the fourth and last tranche of the Republic Act 11466.
Before the final tranche of salary increases took effect in January this year, the president received a monthly salary ranging from P411,382 to P423,723 in 2022. The incremental rise is provided for under the Philippine Salary Standardization Law.
The video with the misleading headline appeared five days after the COA published the 2022 report on the salaries and allowances received by officials of national government agencies and members of government corporations in the past year.
FB page JaLyn Charita Talks (created on March 22, 2020) published the video, garnering over 4,400 reactions, 450 comments, 500 shares and 60,000 views.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
