Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte once again understated his salary as the end of his six-year term this June nears. It is at least the sixth time he has done so, based on VERA Files Fact Check’s count.
STATEMENT
During the groundbreaking ceremony for a new sports complex in Bataan, Duterte repeated his call on the police and the military to continue the “momentum” in the fight against drugs, assuring them that he would assume “full accountability” for all acts performed in the line of duty.
In the latter part of his speech, Duterte teased some police officers, saying that he understands the situation of having to divide their salaries between two families:
“Ngayon, dinoble ko na iyong suweldo nila. Ang suweldo nila maliit eh, hindi magkasya sa dalawang asawa. Alam ko iyan, huwag ninyo akong lokohin. L****. Kasi ako, ang suweldo ko, it’s about 196[,000], 200[,000] iyan eh plus, salary of a president, 190[,000], hatiin ko pa iyan para sa dalawang pamilya.”
(Now, I have doubled the salary [of police officers]. Their salary was low, not enough for two wives. I know that. Don’t fool me. Because I have around P1960[,000] P2000[,000] plus, salary of a president, P1900[,000], I need to divide it between my two families.)
Source: Presidential Communications Operations Office official website, Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Philippine Sports Training Center 6/17/2022 (transcript), June 17, 2022, watch from 16:43 to 17:10
In the same event, the outgoing chief executive said that when his term ends on June 30, he would become an “ordinary citizen” from being a “shining star.”
FACT
Duterte’s monthly salary actually ranges from P388,096 to P399,739. This is based on the fourth and last tranche of the salary adjustment in 2019 for the position of the president, in accordance with Executive Order No. 201, signed by then-president Benigno Aquino III in February 2016.
(See VERA FILES FACT CHECK: For the 5th time, Duterte repeats wrong claim on his salary)
Duterte also increased the salaries in government, including that of the president, in four tranches from 2020 to 2023 through Republic Act No. 11466 in January 2020. However, the 1987 Constitution exempts the incumbent president, vice president, and members of Congress from benefiting from salary increases granted during their tenure.
President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is supposed to have a monthly salary ranging from P411,382 to P432,723, based on the third tranche of RA 11466 currently implemented.
See related fact-checks about Duterte understating his salary:
- 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
Presidential Communications Operations Office official website, Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Philippine Sports Training Center 6/17/2022, (transcript), June 17, 2022
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
Duterte understating his salary
- RTVMalacanang official YouTube channel Meeting on COVID-19 Concerns and Talk to the People on COVID-19 8/10/2020, Aug. 10, 2020
- RTVMalacanang official YouTube channel, 39th Masskara Festival (Speech) 10/27/2018, Oct. 27, 2018
- RTVMalacanang official YouTube channel, Establishment of TienDA Para Sa Mga Bayani and Talk to the Troops (Speech) 2/22/2018, Feb. 22, 2018
- RTVMalacanang official YouTube channel, President Rody Duterte departs the Davao International Airport for a State Visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , April 10, 2017
- RTVMalacanang official YouTube channel, Visit to the New Hope Village Housing Project (Speech) 1/25/2017, Jan. 25, 2017
(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.)
