P53-M man gives frugality sermon

A top official, arguably the single most powerful unelected man in the country’s economy, recently lectured Filipinos about their “consumption culture,” suggesting that too many households spend rather than save and that this habit lies behind much of the nation’s economic distress. “Huwag maging mayabang, save more,” was the gist.

Here’s the thing: This official took home roughly P52.76 million last year, Nosy Tarsee found in its review of the pay scale of so-called public servants — around 130 times what the average Filipino family earns annually and more than what his peers in other nations earn.

His pay eclipses, by a wide margin, that of the highest-paid government official in the Philippines, even the President himself.

Telling that population their “consumption culture” is the problem, instead of acknowledging that millions spend everything they earn because nothing is left over to save, isn’t just tone-deaf. It borders on willful ignorance, the kind that comes from believing too much of the “Philippines is now upper-middle-income” talking points and too little of the receipts from actual households.

And perhaps it’s also time this official’s annual performance review was made public, so the 96 million Filipinos footing the bill for that salary can judge for themselves exactly what they’re paying for.