MikeLigalig.com

Senators take home P1.4M a month–Santiago

By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Wednesday, January 29th, 2014


Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, hobbled by a chronic fatigue syndrome, made a rare appearance in a committee hearing on Tuesday, batting for the swift passage of the freedom of information (FOI) bill and urging the inclusion of a provision that would allow voters to determine if school dropouts in the Senate deserve their P1.4 million monthly pay.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=77454.0

“The basic monthly salary of a senator is P90,000. But if you add all other legitimate sources of income such as allowances and honoraria, the total monthly income of a senator could be placed at some P1.4 million,” she said.

“There are some senators who did not finish high school or college. Do we really want to pay them this high a salary? That is a valid concern that voters might want to address, if they have access to information,” she said.

Santiago said she wanted the public to compare the monthly income of the highest-paid public official, the President, with the income of the “lowest-paid janitor in the bureaucracy.”

“In the corporate world, there is an algorithm for determining how much should be the salary of the highest-ranking officer, because it cannot be more than the salary of the lowest employee, when multiplied by a certain factor. That should also be the practice in the public sector,” Santiago said.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=77454.0

“Under the Bill of Rights, on the one hand, the provision of communications and correspondence shall be inviolable. On the other hand, the right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized,” she said in a statement.

“We have to be able to finish the antagonism between these two provisions lest critics question the constitutionality of the FOI law in the Supreme Court.”

Santiago added that the FOI bill should be reconciled with the existing Data Privacy Act and other laws as well.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=77454.0

Campaign promise

Various FOI bills have been introduced in Congress over the years.

Senate Bill No. 1733 seeks to grant the public access to government information, excluding only sensitive national security issues. Most legislators are against the bill, fearing publication of government workings that public officials would rather keep from the people.

President Aquino, who had promised to support the bill during the 2010 presidential campaign, has expressed reservations over a provision that would make transcripts of Cabinet meetings available to the public, except those pertaining to national security and diplomacy.

With such a provision, a Cabinet official may think twice about making statements in such meetings, Aquino said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=77454.0

Confidential

But Drilon admitted that aside from a senator’s P90,000 salary, he or she was also entitled to a confidential budget of up to P280,000.

Drilon said there were certain instances when expenditures were confidential, and only during this circumstance was a simple certification by the concerned senator allowed in lieu of supporting receipts.

Drilon said these expenditures fall under items “extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses” (EMEs) and “other maintenance and operating expenses” (OMOEs), which have a total monthly allocation of P280,000.

He said the amount was used “to cover for expenses necessary and incidental to the performance of the official functions of the senator or in aid of legislation which includes, but is not limited to, gathering data relative to a legislative inquiry or to a concern or advocacy being advanced by the senator.”

Drilon said EMEs and OMOEs also cover expenses incurred to ensure the safety and security of the conduct of legislative inquiries and investigators and of persons invited to become witnesses.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=77454.0

Mao lagi ni ron, confidential kunohay...

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=77454.0