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MANILA, Philippines — Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) executives have consistently topped the list of highest-paid government officials, each earning roughly P20 million a year since 2020.
Since taking office in July 2023, BSP Governor and Monetary Board Chair Eli Remolona has remained the top-paid government official. In 2024, his compensation rose by 35%, reaching over P47.96 million.
According to the Commission on Audit (COA), Most of his total earnings came from allowances, bonuses, incentives and other benefits, which amounted to P33.703 million last year.
Earning a basic salary of P1 million per month or P12 million a year, Remolona took home nearly three times what an average Filipino family earns in a year — estimated at P353,000 in 2023 by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
This is the first time in the past decade that a BSP governor earned nearly P50 million in a single year.
The last time a central bank chief breached P40 million a year was in 2021, when Benjamin Diokno, now on the Monetary Board, served as BSP governor.
Before that, governors usually made about P20 million a year, while other executives earned even less, around P15 million.
Today, even officials ranked below the governor are making between P20 million and P30 million a year.
Which BSP officials earned the most in 2024?
Second to Remolona, BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier earned P4 million more in 2024, pushing her annual earnings past the P30 million mark.
Prior to stepping down, former BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila, in charge of the monetary and economics sector, was the third highest paid government official in 2024, with total earnings of P28.82 million — an increase of around P5 million from 2023.
He was replaced by Zeno Ronald Abenoja on May 19. Abenoja previously worked at the Department of Finance (DOF) and was an assistant governor of BSP's monetary policy sub-sector.
Elmore Capule, the deputy governor in charge of the corporate services sector, ranked fourth with P26.53 million in earnings for 2024, reflecting a P4 to P5 million pay hike.
Monetary Board member Romeo Bernardo, former finance secretary, was also paid around P26 million last year. He has been in office since September 2023 and will be serving a six-year term.
The sixth to tenth highest paid government employees were also from the BSP:
- Senior Assistant Governor Edna Villa - P25.82 million
- Senior Assistant Governor Johnny Estanislao Ravalo - P25.36 million
- Monetary Board member Rosalia De Leon - P25.28 million
- Retired Deputy Governor Eduardo Bobier - P23.75 million
- Monetary Board member Benjamin Diokno - P23.52 million
Every month, this means these officials earned around P2 million, equivalent to more than P70,000 per day over a year.
But what exactly does the BSP do?
Its primary responsibility is to maintain price stability in the country through sustainable monetary policy. Simply put, the central bank manages how money moves through the economy.
One way the BSP does this is by adjusting the policy interest rate. This rate affects how much it costs to borrow money.
When the BSP raises it, loans become more expensive, so people and businesses tend to borrow less, thereby spending less. When the rate goes down, borrowing becomes cheaper, which usually leads to more spending.
It is a balancing act to help keep inflation, or how fast prices of goods and services rise, under control.
In 2024, inflation dropped sharply from 4.4% in July to 3.3% in August, later reaching a low of 1.9% in September. Starting October 2024, inflation slightly rose, hitting 2.9% in January 2025 before slowing again to 1.4% in April, the lowest since November 2019.
The BSP, however, does more than set interest rates. It also regulates banks and ensures there’s enough money circulating in the economy — not too much, not too little.
To manage this balance, it buys or sells government securities and sets reserve requirements, or the amount of money banks must keep and cannot lend out.
While more BSP executives now rank among the highest-paid government officials, there have been times when leaders from other agencies or banks earned more than some central bank officials.
In 2020, the top earners included the Chief Justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court, as well as executives from the United Coconut Planters Bank, which later merged with Land Bank of the Philippines.
Officials from the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Government Service Insurance System were also among the highest paid, making the top 10.
In recent years, however, all of the 10 highest-paid government officials have come from the BSP.
