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VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Duterte understates his salary for the nth time

WHAT WAS CLAIMED

President Rodrigo Duterte says his monthly salary ranges from P196,000 to P200,000.

OUR VERDICT

False:

The president’s salary ranges from P388,096 to P399,739 a month, based on the fourth and last tranche of the salary adjustment in 2019 in accordance with Executive Order No. 201, signed by then-president Benigno Aquino III in February 2016.

By VERA Files

Jun 21, 2022

4-minute read
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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:

 

Have you seen any dubious claims, photos, memes, or online posts that you want us to verify? Fill out this reader request form.

 

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

 

(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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