Senate OKd resolution suspending bonuses, allowances of GOCC execs

By Maila Ager INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines— (UPDATE) Senators unanimously adopted on Wednesday a resolution urging President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to immediately suspend all the “unusually large and apparently excessive allowances, bonuses, incentives and other perks of the governing boards” of government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) as well as of government financialinstitutions (GFIs) It was Senator Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee, who presented Senate Resolution 17 on the floor. None of 17 senators present in the plenary objected to its adoption. “Resolved by the Senate, to urge, as it hereby urges, the President to immediately suspend all the allowances, bonuses, incentives, and other perks being received by the members of the board of GOCCs and GFIs, except reasonable per diems, pending the enactment of the needed legislation for their regulation,” said the resolution. The President, it noted, has the power under the Administrative Code to suspend the excessive bonuses of the board of directors/trustees of GOCCs and GFIs, “If the respective boards of these GOCCs and GFIs would be allowed to continue to grant such bonuses to themselves, the damage to these corporations and institutions would be irreparable and would further erode government revenues,' said the resolution. It also expressed the need to turn over to the concerned GOCC and GFI the fees, bonuses, stockoptions, allowances and other benefits that the board members have been getting while they sit as representatives of government firms in various private corporations. At a press briefing before taking the floor, Drilon clarified that the proposed suspension of bonuses and allowances would not cover executives and employeesof government corporations. “In so far as the executives and the rank and file employees are concerned, we can't touch them at this point unless it's part of a comprehensive reform,” he pointed out. In a letter to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile dated August 24, Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad conveyed the President's proposal to adopt a “menu” for their 2nd tranche of this year's congressional allocations. “We are aware that there is an existing provision in the 2010 GAA (General Appropriations Act) on the menu that should be adopted for the whole year of 2010,” Abad said in the letter. But the proposed menu items, he said, “all fall within the menu as provided in the 2010 GAA. “The only difference is that the items in the President's proposed menu are more focused and aligned with his priorities. Therefore we would appreciate if this menu can be adopted,” Abad added. For congressional district or party-list representative, the President suggested that the congressional allocation for education, health and social protection should not exceed P15 million and P20 million for projects listed under public infrastructure. And for senators, the President wants a limit of P50 million for education, health and social protection and another P50 million for infrastructure. The project listed under education are scholarships, which includes Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GATSPE) Educational Service Contracting; health covers assistance to indigent patients either confined or out-patients, purchase of medical equipment, andinsurance premium; and under social protection are “community-driven projects” under the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (Unity Against Poverty) Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The projects listed under public infrastructure are roads and bridges, flood control, hospitals and health facilities, public markets, educational facilities, school buildings, desks and chairs, water supply system, farm-to-market roads, and irrigation projects identified in the master plan of the Department of Agriculture. “Identification of projects and/or designation of beneficiaries shall conform to the priority list, standard pr design prepared by each implementing agency,” said the documents attached to Abad's letter. “Furthermore, preference shall be given to projects located in 4th to 6th class municipalities and limited to indigents identified under the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction of the DSWD,” it added.