CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines —For being listed as the official who gets the second highest salary and financial perks from government, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Clark Development Corp. (CDC) has found himself in “trouble” with his wife.

Benigno Ricafort said his wife had asked him where he kept the other funds. But he quickly added that his wife eventually “understood my situation and… sympathized with me.”

Ricafort described as “inaccurate” the Commission on Audit (COA) report on the salaries and allowances of top executives of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

“My cell phone was also full of text messages, expressing disbelief,” he said. “I guess they know my person and reputation.”

Ricafort disputed the report that he got P14.506 million in 2009, saying that he received “less than P3 million a year” in salary and allowances.

He said the P10 million cited in the COA report was just “lumped under [my] name and accountability, not as compensation,” and subject to audit and validation.

In e-mail and text messages sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Saturday night, Ricafort said his basic salary was P173, 000, with a take-home pay of P117, 600 after taxes and deductions. [By contrast, President Aquino has a take-home pay of P63, 000 on a gross monthly salary of P95, 000.]

“Our salary structure is closely supervised, rationalized and justified. This, I know for some 17 years,” said Ricafort, who served as CDC director from 1993 until he was appointed the CDC president in July 2008.

On a yearly basis, he gets a salary of P1.65 million, including 13th-month and 14th-month pay.

His salary has not been adjusted since he was appointed CDC head, Ricafort said.

The COA report showed that in 2009, Ricafort received P2.078 million in salary; P832, 400 in per diem for sitting on the boards of CDC and Clark International Airport Corp.; P606, 056 in representation and transportation allowance; and P396, 344 in bonus and incentives or a total compensation of P3.912 million.

The report showed that he also received P10 million in extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses and P497, 441 in “other expenses.”

But Ricafort said the non-compensatory amount allotted under his name was pre-approved by the CDC board of directors for expenses like promotions, advertisements and public-client relations.

These expenses “cannot be predicted with strict accuracy” and cannot be capped and restricted “as it may impede corporate initiatives for growth and expansion,” he said.

“[Since the fund usage is for] unpredicted and extraordinary items, it is entrusted under the authority and accountability of the president and CEO, not for his personal use, but for purposes left to his judgment and his executive officers, as this may occur and cannot await the special allotment by the board … that meets [only] twice a month,” Ricafort said.

Armand Arreza, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator, who topped the COA list, welcomed the proposed congressional investigation of the salary and financial benefits of GOCC executives.

“Certainly, we have nothing to hide. Particularly with regard to matters of compensation, I believe there has to be greater transparency,” Arreza said.

The SBMA has begun implementing austerity programs, which includes the cutting of subsidies to revenue-losing subsidiaries, he said.