Nearly one year after leaving Malacañang, former president Rodrigo Duterte said his monthly take-home pay was “P197,000 only” despite what he says were enormous tasks that kept him awake until early morning as the country’s chief executive.
This was the seventh time, at least by VERA Files Fact Check’s count, that Duterte understated his compensation. His basic salary from 2019 until his term ended in June 2022 ranged from P388,096 to P399,739 a month.
STATEMENT
During his three-hour talk show on SMNI News Channel, Duterte mentioned his salary when he was president after pastor Apollo Quiboloy asked him about the possibility of his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, seeking higher office.
The former president said:
“I pray that they (Duterte children) [will] remain … iyong fortitude nila sa buhay (their fortitude in life), especially itong (the) public office vis-a-vis iyong corruption … Mahirap kasi (Because it’s difficult) to seek a higher position, tapos (and) you maintain na (that) ‘yung, kulang talaga palagi (the [salary] is often inadequate).”
Source: SMNI official YouTube channel, FPRRD kay VP Sara: Sa lahat ng mga anak ko, ito ‘yung may karakter. Magti-tiptoe ka basta si Inday, May 31 – June 1, 2023, watch from 02:56 to 03:29
Duterte then recounted the travails of the presidency, including low salary for the voluminous work it entailed.
He said:
“… Ang sweldo mo ang liit. Iyong nakita ko iyong nasa gobyerno, pastor, na enjoying iyong mga salaries nila. Mga consultant, P300,000 … Alam mo ang sweldo ko talaga, pastor, ang take-home pay ko mga P197,000 only.”
(… Your salary is too low. I saw that in the government, pastor, they were enjoying their salaries. Consultants [earn] P300,000 … You know my actual salary, pastor, my take-home pay was around P197,000 only.)
Source: watch from 3:47 to 4:09
Duterte added:
“And I stay awake until 6 to 7 o’clock in the morning … just to read and sign paper[s]. Alam ni [Gloria Macapagal] Arroyo ‘yan (Arroyo knows this), lahat ng pre… (all [former presidents].”
Source: watch from 4:09 to 4:21
FACT
From 2019 until his term ended in June 2022, Duterte’s monthly basic salary ranged from P388,096 to P399,739. When he assumed the presidency in June 2016, it was at P160,924 to P165,752 a month, but increased almost two-fold in 2017 (from P215,804 to P222,278) and 2018 (from P289,401 to P298,083).
The annual increase in Duterte’s pay was due to the yearly adjustments in the salary of government workers from 2016 to 2019 based on Executive Order No. 201, signed by then-president Benigno Aquino III in February 2016.
During his presidency, Duterte also raised the salaries in government, including that of the president, in four tranches from 2020 to 2023 through Republic Act (RA) No. 11466, which was enacted in January 2020.
The 1987 Constitution prohibits the incumbent president, vice president, and members of Congress from receiving salary increases approved during their term.
Incumbent President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. currently has a monthly basic salary ranging from P419,144 to P431,718, based on the fourth and last tranche of RA 11466.
See related fact-checks about Duterte understating his salary:
- VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Duterte understates his salary for the nth time in June 2022
- VERA FILES FACT CHECK: For the 5th time, Duterte repeats wrong claim on his salary in August 2020
- VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Duterte’s claim about his salary still inaccurate in October 2018
- VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Duterte understates his salary again in February 2018
- VERA FILES FACT CHECK: How much does President Duterte earn monthly? in April 2017
- VERA FILES FACT CHECK: How much does President Duterte earn monthly? in February 2017
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Sources
SMNI News Channel official YouTube channel, FPRRD kay VP Sara: Sa lahat ng mga anak ko, ito ‘yung may karakter. Magti-tiptoe ka basta si Inday, May 31-June 1, 2023
Official Gazette official website, Executive Order No. 201, s. 2016, Feb. 19, 2016
Official Gazette official website, Republic Act No. 11466, Jan. 8, 2020
Official Gazette official website, 1987 Constitution, accessed June 18, 2022
Department of Budget and Management official website, National Budget Circular No. 568, Jan. 5, 2017
Department of Budget and Management official website, National Budget Circular No. 572, Jan. 3, 2018
Department of Budget and Management official website, National Budget Circular No. 591, Jan. 10, 2023
(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)
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