Income Talks: Corona, OFW Nurses, Hacienda Luisita Farmers, and Aquino

So what’s the big deal about Corona making P21M in 10 Years? Does it necessarily follow that anyone who makes an income of P20M in 10 years has comitted a wrong doing?

Here’s what the Civil Service Commission chair Francisco Duque said to the Inquirer when asked if the amount is “excessive”

Duque said the P21 million in 10 years amounted to an average of P2.1 million per year, or P175,000 a month, a “decent” figure considering that a Chief Justice would get several lawful allowances and benefits to his name and a salary grade of 32, the second highest grade, next to that of the President’s.

“This is decent,” Duque told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview, when asked if the compensation could be considered excessive.

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Thus, when Senatongs and Tongressmen try to make a mountain out of this molehill I ought to take it with a grain of salt because:

1. Individual OFW RNs Made More than P21M in 10 Years

A review of Corona’s income and comparing it with the income of overseas Registered Nurses shows that the Chief Justice of the Philippines made less than overseas RNs.

On the average, an overseas RN makes $65K per year. In contrast, the Chief Justice of the Philippines makes only $46.5K per year. Extrapolating to 10 years, the CJ made $465K while the OFW-RNs made $650K.

We might as well impeach all the individual OFW RNs (if we can) because they made more than P21M in 10 years.

2. Hacienda Luisita Farmers Made Practically Nothing in 10 Years and more

Corona is being stripped and humiliated in public by practitioners of “Daang Matuwid” because the SC decided to distribute the government lands loaned to Hacienda Luisita – plain and simple.

Which of course should remind us that the farmers made practically nothing, have been shot, humiliated, conned, swindled not just for the past 10 years – but generations even.

3. Aquino Made P39M in One Year

Now if red flags went up because Corona made P20M in 10 years, how does one react to an income of P39M in one year by the President? Why aren’t the Tongressmen in a mad scramble to impeach Aquino on these grounds?

“House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said the President should explain to the public the jump in his personal wealth based on his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN)—up 256 percent from P15,440,268 in 2009 to P54,999,370 in 2010—or he would be impeached on the same ground as Article 2 of the impeachment complaint against Corona.”

If the prosecution condemns Corona for his P20M in 10 years, shouldn’t they be doing more with Aquino’s P39M income in 1 year? Sauce for goose but not for gander?

This raises more questions. Are the Filipino masses (and by implication – culture) averse to wealth individual success? If the Filipino masses are not comfortable with wealth and success does this imply they are comfortable with failure and poverty? Does this validate Adam Smith’s notion that the tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations? If there’s talk about income that’s desperately needed – it should be more than Corona or Aquino – it should be about all Filipinos.

The question should be, After 25 years – how come Filipinos income haven’t grown much? Enough of this telenovela distraction from the more pressing challenges of the nation.

It’s the economic policy stupid. Remove the 60/40, get the jobs in, keep our families together.

About the Author

BongV has written 369 stories on this site.

BongV is the webmaster of Antipinoy.com.