vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 3 months, 4 weeks ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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The perks of being congressman

Posted by: Alecks P. Pabico | July 30, 2007 at 12:07 am
Filed under: Congress Watch, Governance

DAYS before the 14th Congress opened, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. had humored the neophyte members of the House of Representatives about the enviable perks enjoyed by lawmakers. The former representative of Camarines Sur who once chaired the powerful House appropriations committee was invited to orient the first-term legislators on the budgeting process. During his talk, he remarked how wonderful it is to be a congressman: “You have flexible time. Pwede kang pumasok, pwedeng hindi (You may or may not go to work) yet still get your salary.”

Then, he warned them not to make the mistake of paying for meals and drinks at the Batasan Pambansa’s South Lounge as it is their privilege to be served free food.

Andaya may have meant everything as a joke, only that speaking of the privileges that legislators enjoy in such manner was hardly amusing, especially given a quorum-challenged legislature that has been passing fewer and fewer laws each year despite the ever increasing budgetary allocation to lawmaking. When the 13th Congress formally closed last June 30, it managed to pass only 148 laws, setting a new record-low in the history of the Philippine legislature. That is no laughing matter.

Yet apparently, the mention of perks was the very cue Jose de Venecia Jr. had also waited for. When came his turn to give the freshman legislators a briefing, the just elected House Speaker announced even more entitlements for members of the Lower House, in particular, an annual P1-million foreign travel allotment, and allocations for additional staff and maintenance of their respective district offices. There’s even a new building in the works to house new offices for the congressmen.

What the public commonly knows is that his or her district representative gets a monthly salary of P35,000, plus, of course, yearly pork-barrel allocations amounting to P70 million — P20 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and P50 million as congressional allocation for public works projects.

What is seldom known are the amounts corresponding to their other entitlements, apart from salary and pork barrel. As gleaned from the Commission on Audit’s annual published itemized lists, these include expenses for district staff allocation, contractual consultants, research, consultative local travel, communication, and supplies. There are also allocations for a public affairs fund, central office staff, equipment/furniture and fixtures, and other maintenance and operating expenses (MOE).

COSTLY CONGRESSMEN What the Public Spent for the Upkeep of Each Member of the House of Representatives in 2005
EXPENSE ITEMS*	AMOUNT
Basic Salary	420,000.00
Foreign Travel	220,867.70
District Staff Allocation	650,000.04
Contractual Consultants	120,000.00
Research	396,000.00
Consultative Local Travel	788,763.71
Communication	129,600.00
Supplies	120,000.00
Public Affairs Fund	308,400.00
Central Office Staff	1,982,033.58
Equipment/Furniture and Fixtures	21,537.84
Other MOE	600,000.00

Source: Commission on Audit
*Figures for Foreign Travel, Consultative Local Travel, Central Office Staff and Equipment/Furniture and Fixtures are average amounts. The rest are uniform for all congressmen.

The COA lists are not at all comprehensive and do not even include expenses of legislators as committee members and officers which, in 2005, amounted to over P92 million. In 2004, the House spent about P77 million on these expenses.

Data from the PCIJ book, The Rulemakers, show that the annual upkeep of each congressman had almost doubled from P2.83 million in 1994 to P5.16 million in 2002. Latest data culled from the published expenses of the 13th House point to a continuing trend, with the annual upkeep pegged at P5.7 million each congressman in 2005, or P480,880.36 a month — the highest to date.

COSTLY CONGRESSMEN - 2 Annual and Monthly Upkeep of Each Member of the House of Representatives
YEAR	ANNUAL UPKEEP	MONTHLY UPKEEP
1994	2,830,608.48	235,884.04
1995	2,588,929.44	215,744.12
1996	3,235,886.71	269,657.23
1997	3,496,225.83	291,352.15
1998	2,827,975.56	235,664.63
1999	4,537,482.57	378,123.55
2000	4,562,446.31	380,203.86
2001	3,917,321.63	326,443.47
2002	5,155,221.54	429,601.79
2004	4,112,520.42	342,710.04
2005	5,770,564.32	480,880.36

Source: Commission on Audit

While there has not been any increase in their basic salary since 1999, and most of the other entitlements have remained at their 2001 levels, each House member’s district staff allocation has been increased to P650,000 annually. MOE also ballooned to P600,000 in 2005 from the previous year’s P411,000. Meanwhile, expenses on consultative local travel and central office staff were at their highest in the same year at over P788,000 and close to P2 million, respectively, per congressman.

Foreign travel expenses in 2005 also was double the 2004 amount at an average of P221,000 each House member. The total bill paid for by the government for the overseas trips of 170 congressmen was P59,413,412.82.

COSTLY CONGRESSMEN - 3 Annual Average Amounts Paid to Foreign Travel of Members of the House of Representatives
YEAR	AMOUNT
1994	98,444.80
1995	89,948.98
1996	187,176.33
1997	184,458.69
1998	156,475.83
1999	372,988.06
2000	432,950.16
2001	254,395.86
2002	316,201.67
2004	110,129.44
2005	220,867.70

Source: Commission on Audit

THE HOUSE JETSET* Top 10 Spenders on Foreign Travel Among Members of the House of Representatives in 2005
CONGRESSMAN	EXPENSES
Antonio Cuenco	1,294,058.05
Roque Ablan Jr.	1,014,006.90
Monico Puentevella	960,789.66
Emilio Espinosa Jr.	806,904.43
Ernesto Nieva	795,350.89
Juan Miguel Zubiri	787,582.99
Abdullah Dimaporo	777,886.88
Hermilando Mandanas	741,172.72
Arnulfo Fuentebella	733,777.65
Reylina Nicolas	731,196.5

Source: Commission on Audit
* List does not declare the foreign travel expenses of House Speaker Jose de Venecia.

Because maintenance, operating, and other expenses of House members are consolidated with their basic salary in the payroll and classified as “outright expenses,” these are no longer subject to liquidation, which means that congressmen do not have to account for these funds.

What’s more, as reported in The Rulemakers:

They are not expected to submit a payroll of their district staff or report their function, salaries and withholding taxes. No one starts asking if they do not produce a report on the research their offices should supposedly undertake. There is no demand for them to produce the list of consultants they have hired, as well as the contracts they draw up for those whose services they need. As fas as the current (lack of) rules go, how the legislators spend their public affairs fund is their business and business alone.

The generous perks do not end there. The House Speaker is himself a source of funds with a vast discretionary largesse at his disposal. From this are mostly drawn the representatives’ monthly allowances (which can range from P50,000 to P100,000), Christmas bonuses (P100,000 to 200,000), as well as the “payoffs” for votes during speakership contests and “appearance fees” (P50,000 as minimum) for attending plenary sessions to vote on crucial national bills.

Under de Venecia, who has won an unprecedented fifth term as Speaker, the 14th House is not likely to veer away from the usual practice. Isn’t it high time that the public demanded greater financial accountability from their representatives?

This entry was posted on Monday, July 30th, 2007 and is filed under Congress Watch, Governance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 people have left comments

Just for comparison, our Federal MPs are bargains (divisoria), even if their salaries and indemnities are converted into Philippines currency.

And here is a few example: for 2007..

Member of the House of Commons Basic Sessional Indemnity $150,800.00
(by constitution there will be at least one session annually)

Prime Minister Salary $150,800.00
Prime Minister Car Allowance $2,122.00
Minister Salary $72,200.00
(Or course the PM and family get the Government House and Government funded travels and house staff)
Speaker of the House of Commons Salary $72,200.00
Speaker of the House of Commons Car Allowance $1,061.00
Speaker of the House of Commons Rent Allowance $3,000.00
Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons Salary $72,200.00
Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons Car Allowance $2,122.00
Leader - Other Parties Salary $51,400.0

Travel allowances for Cabinet Ministers are only for official Government business, while the PM may combine both official and pleasure. All other MPs will get a rental allowances during the Sessions for accommodation in the Capital City, Ottawa.

Now, maybe we can stop wondering why Politics is such a wonderful way to make a good living in the Country, even without all the other “extra benefits” that most know why it is worth all the efforts and the struggles and the violence and the disregard of the rule of law just to get elected… Now we Know the Rest of the Story….

naykika wrote on July 30, 2007 - 3:36 am | Visit Link

what a beautiful life.

jr_lad wrote on August 2, 2007 - 12:42 pm | Visit Link

i don’t mind if they spend all the money that belongs to the people. Anyway they won’t reach the age of 200 and they will die.They can spend everything for all I care. If that would make them happy, go on and after their term their children can takeover. They can stay in the congress and in Philippines while we the rest shall strive to get out of this unlucky country.

bongsua wrote on August 3, 2007 - 3:35 am | Visit Link