PNoy to spend first salary as president on bills

President Benigno Aquino III has received his first salary as chief executive of the country.

Malacañang on Wednesday distributed to the media a photo showing a beaming Aquino holding a paycheck amounting to P63,002.17. The check was dated July 30, 2010.

In a text message to GMA News, Aquino said he will use the money to pay his utility bills.

Aquino’s monthly salary is pegged at P95,000 after his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, signed Executive Order No. 900 increasing the basic pay in all government salary grades, including the president’s.

With deductions, Aquino—a 50-year-old bachelor—only received a little over P63,000, which is higher by 65 percent than Arroyo’s salary before she signed EO No. 900 days before she stepped out of office.

The president’s salary is equivalent to Salary Grade 33 (SG 33), the salary grade exclusively assigned to the highest position in the Philippine government as per Republic Act 6758 or the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989. - Jam L. Sisante/KBK, GMANews.TV