GOCC bonuses lose fat, trimmed down

The days of fat bonuses are over for executives of state-owned companies who now stand to see their pay checks thin by more than P100,000 to P1 million as approved by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Governance Commission for Government Owned and Controlled Corporations on Thursday (June 20) said Duterte had approved new rules governing compensation and benefits of executives appointed in GOCCs or government owned and controlled corporations.

The grant of bonuses has also been tied to GOCC performance.

Under the new rules, GOCCs may parlay bonuses only if they achieve a 90 percent rating in their performance score cards. The bonuses are also tied to compliance with good governance conditions set by the commission on GOCC and an interagency task force overseeing these companies.

To qualify for incentive, appointees must have had an attendance record of at least 90 percent in board and other meetings, had been in the position for at least three months, submitted all requirements for a performance review and had not been convicted of any administrative or criminal case.

The order signed by Duterte slashes by at least 2/3 the bonuses being received by appointees in “class A” GOCCs or those with assets of at least P100 billion and revenue of at least P10 billion a year. This would reduce a P1.6 million bonus to just P512,000.

Appointees in smaller GOCCs with assets of less than P1 billion and revenue of not more than P100 million would have to make do with a P64,000 bonus from the previous P192,000 prior to Duterte’s order.

The bonuses would have to be funded by the GOCCs’ corporate funds, the order said.

The commission on GOCCs said the cut in GOCC perks was “another accomplishment by President Duterte from his 2017 State of the Nation Address” during which he said benefits and bonuses in GOCCs will have to be reviewed by the Office of the President.

The radical weight-loss regimen of GOCC bonuses would allow “these government corporations to allocate more funds to better serve the public,” said the commission on GOCCs. (Editor: Tony Bergonia)