FACT CHECK: Ex-BSP gov Medalla, not Diokno, is highest paid official in 2022

Claim: Former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor Benjamin Diokno, who now serves as finance secretary, is currently the highest-paid government official in the Philippines.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in a YouTube video posted by Kaalam PH on August 12, which has gained 15,000 views and 565 likes as of writing.

The bottom line: Although Diokno was the highest-paid government official in 2020 and 2021, former BSP governor Felipe Medalla ranked number one in the 2022 Commission on Audit Report on Salaries and Allowances (ROSA). 

Medalla, who served as BSP governor from the start of the Marcos presidency on June 30, 2022, until July 2, 2023, earned P34.172 million in 2022 with the breakdown as follows: P9.3 million in basic salary, P24,000 in honorarium, P11,863,947.14 in allowances, P11,892,648.16 in bonuses, incentives, and benefits, and P1,091,913.04 in discretionary, extraordinary, and miscellaneous expenses. 

Meanwhile, Diokno’s earnings amounted to P28.781 million in 2022, putting him in second place. Diokno, who was BSP governor from 2019 to mid-2022, previously topped the list of highest earners with a reported total income of P41.81 million in 2021 and P19.79 million in 2020.

Here are the top 10 highest-paid government officials in 2022:

1. Former BSP governor Felipe Medalla – P34.172 million
2. Former BSP governor Benjamin Diokno – P28.781 million
3. BSP Monetary Board Member Anita Linda Aquino – P26.362 million
4. BSP Monetary Board Member Victor Bruce Tolentino – P25.679 million
5. BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier – P25.157 million
6. BSP Monetary Board Member Peter Favila – P24.389 million
7. BSP Monetary Board Member Antonio Abacan Jr. – P24.026 million
8. BSP Senior Assistant Governor and General Counsel Elmore Capule – P22.474 million
9. BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. – P22.387 million
10. BSP Senior Assistant Governor Edna Villa – P20.902 million

The ROSA covers the salaries of government employees, including secretaries, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, officials from different government agencies, and top personnel of the governing boards of government-owned or controlled corporations. It excludes the compensation of the president, vice president, and members of Congress. – Andrei Santos/Rappler.com

Andrei Santos is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.