EDITORIAL - Cabinet members donating their pay

Perhaps taking a page from the playbook of the top officials in Singapore who donated their salaries to those involved in fighting COVID-19 last February, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a press briefing yesterday that members of the Cabinet will donate 75% of their monthly salaries as long as the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act is still in effect.

“Nais din nating ipagbigay alam na karamihan, majority, ng mga miyembro ng gabinete ni Pangulong Duterte ay boluntaryong ibibigay ang malaking bahagi, 75% ng kanilang buwanang sahod, upang ilaan sa mga programa ng gobyerno upang sugpuin ang COVID-19 sa loob ng panahong pinapatupad ang Bayanihan Law,” Nograles was quoted by Philstar.com as saying.

For sure, there will be those who will say this move is nothing more than “pampakitang tao”, or just done to get pogi points and to make the administration look good after all the blunders it has committed in the fight against COVID-19.

The more bitter ones may even insist that these Cabinet members are actually paid with the people’s money so it’s only right that the money should go back to the people, others will even point out that these Cabinet members should be thankful they still have salaries.

However, we should still appreciate the fact that they are making this sacrifice. That’s majority of their pay they are willing to give away after all. We salute Nograles and the others who want to be part of this initiative.

However, this gesture is only good as long as the money goes to where it should.

Let’s be honest here, this country is so bad when it comes to tracking where something goes. Whether it’s donations from foreign countries, local taxes, or relief goods following a disaster, things seem to get lost easily or aren’t tracked well enough to get where they should. It’s so easy for things to end up in the wrong place, sometimes even in the wrong pocket.

However, since this is the Cabinet members’ salaries we are talking about here, perhaps better care will be taken to ensure it really gets to where it’s intended.