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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Issue No. 21 July 8-14, 2001 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Issue No. 21 July 8-14, 2001 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Fat Salaries for Bureaucrats, Crumbs for the Poor Some
two weeks ago, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was shocked to learn that top
government bureaucrats particularly heads of government-owned and –controlled
corporations (GOCCs) were enjoying fat salaries. She ordered a pay-cut. But the
president should have known about the scandalous salaries for years being a top
government bureaucrat and elected official herself. Whether her move was meant
to raise her popularity rating, the issue underscored once more the wide
disparity of incomes in the Philippines including even in the cash-strapped and
graft-ridden state bureaucracy. BY
DANILO A. ARAO News
about atrocious salaries of some government bureaucrats has raised not just
eyebrows but also protests from cause-oriented groups. A few days ago, one
official was criticized of having the gall to invoke the legality of his high
salary and that having a pay-cut would be violating the law. He refused to cut
his salary. It
still remains to be seen whether Malacañang’s order of a pay-cut will be
implemented. As heads and managers of government-owned and –controlled
corporations (GOCCs) pocket millions of pesos yearly in salaries and countless
benefits, millions of workers have to make do with job scarcity, low wages and
high cost of living. Latest
government figures show that there are around 4.4 million unemployed Filipinos
as of April 2001, a 1.89 percent increase from the same period last year. Almost
30 percent of them (i.e., 1.2 million) are ages 20-24 years old, mostly fresh
graduates and in their most productive years. While
indeed, this is not the time to be jobless, being employed is not necessarily a
ticket out of poverty and misery. This is because those who have jobs are mostly
self-employed and unpaid family workers. Of the 29.2-million employed Filipinos,
10.8 million are own-account workers while 4.1 million are family members who
are forced to help their head of the family even if as a result they receive
nothing. As
if this is not enough, 5.1 million Filipinos are underemployed, which means that
they are employed but still looking for another job because they aren't earning
enough from the job they have—or are working longer than the
prescribed hours but are dissatisfied with their current occupation for various
reasons. Wages
vs. Cost of Living Wages
are also a major issue, as the legislated wage rates are not enough to meet
basic needs. Today,
a Metro Manila-based worker earns only P250 ($4.90) a day, or roughly P5,500
($107.84) monthly (i.e., assuming a 22-day work-month). Independent
estimates of Metro Manila daily cost of living as of June 2001 show that a
family of 6 needs P510.84 ($10.01) everyday or P15,325.20 ($300.49) monthly to
meet basic food and non-food needs,. This
simply means the legislated daily wage rate in Metro Manila fulfils only 35.89
percent of what an average family needs to survive in a month. Even if both
parents earn the minimum wage, they still cannot fully provide for their
family’s needs. Based
on the 1997 salary schedule of government employees under the Salary
Standardization Law, it appears that only those under Salary Grade (SG) 20 and
above earn wages that are more than the estimated cost of living. Worse, the
unfortunate ones classified as SG1 earn a measly P4,400 ($86.27) monthly, way
below the mandated daily wage. These are the glaring facts and figures that indeed show the signs of the troubled times. But more important, these also highlight the growing contradiction of plenty for the few and misery for the majority. Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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